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Full text of "The American Legion Magazine [Volume 46, No. 5 (May 1949)]"

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THE  AMERICAN 


1 1 M  w : 


MAY  194 


M  ACAX  I  N  E 


A  NE-H  f  mE 


AMERICAN  LEGION  MAG 


\ 


IN  THIS  ISSUE 

DOES  YOUR  MOVIE  MONEY 
GO  TO  COMMIES?  .  .  .  PAGE  14 


WANT  TO  GET  ON  A 
QUIZ  SHOW?  PAGE  ^s 


GOT  A  STOMACH-ACHE?  PAGE  20 


I  was  cur/oiis. . . 


©  1949,  Jos.  Schlitz  Brewing  Company,  Milwaukee,  Wise. 


THE  FUTURE  HOLDS  GREAT  PROMISE 


Neither  chance  nor  mere  good  for- 
tune has  brought  this  nation  the 
finest  telephone  service  in  the  world. 
The  service  Americans  enjoy  in  such 
abundance  is  direcdy  the  product  of 
their  own  imagination,  enterprise  and 
common  sense. 


The  people  of  America  have  put  bil- 
lions of  dollars  of  their  savings  into 
building  their  telephone  system.  They 
have  learned  more  and  more  ways  to  use 
the  telephone  to  advantage,  and  have 
continuously  encouraged  invention  and 
initiative  to  find  new  paths  toward  new 
horizons. 

They  have  made  the  rendering  of 
telephone  service  a  public  trust;  at  the 
same  time,  they  have  given  the  tele- 
phone companies,  under  regulation,  the 
freedom  and  resources  they  must  have 
to  do  their  job  as  well  as  possible. 

In  this  climate  of  freedom  and 
responsibility,  the  Bell  System  has  pro- 
vided service  of  steadily  increasing  value 
•to  more  and  more  people.  Our  policy, 
often  stated,  is  to  give  the  best  possible 
service  at  the  lowest  cost  consistent  with 
financial  safety  and  fair  treatment  of 


employees.  We  are  organized  as  we  are 
in  order  to  carry  that  policy  out. 

Bell  Telephone  Laboratories  lead  t!ie 
world  in  improving  communication 
devices  and  techniques.  Western  Elec- 
tric Company  provides  the  Bell 
operating  companies  with  telephone 
equipment  of  the  highest  quality  at 
reasonable  prices,  and  can  always  be 
counted  on  in  emergencies  to  deliver  the 
goods  whenever  and  wherever  needed. 

The  operating  telephone  companies 
and  the  parent  company  work  together 
so  that  improvements  in  one  place  may 
spread  quickly  to  others.  Because  all 
units  of  the  System  have  the  same  serv- 
ice goals,  great  benefits  flow  to  the 
public. 

Similarly,  the  financial  good  health 
of  the  Bell  System  over  a  period  of  many 
years  has  been  to  the  advantage  of  the 
public  no  less  than  the  stockholders  and 
employees. 

It  is  equally  essential  and  in  the  pub- 
lic interest  that  telephone  rates  and 
earnings  now  and  in  the  future  be  ade- 
quate to  continue  to  pay  good  wages, 
protect  the  billions  of  dollars  of  savings 
invested  in  the  System,  and  attract  the 


new  capital  needed  to  meet  the  service 
opportunities  and  responsibilities  ahead. 

There  is  a  tremendous  amount  of 
work  to  be  done  in  the  near  future  and 
the  System's  technical  and  human  re- 
sources to  do  it  have  never  been  better. 
Our  physical  equipment  is  the  best  in 
history,  though  still  heavily  loaded,  and 
we  have  many  new  and  improved  facili- 
ties to  incorporate  in  the  plant.  Em- 
ployees are  competent  and  courteous. 
The  long-standing  Bell  System  policy 
of  making  promotions  from  the  ranks 
assures  the  continuing  vigor  of  the 
organization. 

With  these  assets,  with  the  traditional 
spirit  of  service  to  get  the  message 
through,  and  with  confidence  that  the 
American  people  understand  the  need 
for  maintaining  on  a  sound  financial 
basis  the  essential  public  services  per- 
formed by  the  Bell  System,  we  look 
forward  to  providing  a  service  better 
and  more  valuable  in  the  future  than 
at  any  time  in  the  past.  We  pledge  our 
utmost  efforts  to  that  end. 


President 


AMERICAN  TELEPHONE  AND  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY 


Front  the  1948  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company      fff  ^™  y 


SAYS  GOLF  CHAMP 

LLOYD  MANGRUM 

'Got  hair  aiS  hard 
to  handle  as  a 
trap  shot? 


I  ^  ft"'/- 


Keep  your  hair  in 
''tournament  shape 

with  the  Vifalis 

:60-gecondWorfe)UtX 


[/I 


Follow  Lloyd  Mangrum's  example.  Take .  ^. 
50  seconds  to  massage.  Vitalis'  special  for- 
mula not  only  prevents  dryness  but  stimu- 
lates your  scalp  as  no  non-alcoholic  dressing 
can!  And  massaging  with  Vitalis  routs  loose 
dandruff,  helps  check  excessive  falling  hair. 

10  seconds  to  comb.  Now 
your  hair  looks  naturally 
well-groomed.  No  greasy 
"patent-leather"  shine — 
Vitalis  contains  no  mineral 
oil — just  pure  vegetable  oil. 
Get  Vitalis  today.  At  drug 
counters  for  home  use,  at 
barber  shops  for  individual 
application. 


For  handsomer, 
healthier-looking  hair 

2  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


Product  o1 
Bristol-Myers 


Vol.  46 

No.  5    THE  AMERICAN 


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copies  returned 
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Box  1055,  Indian- 
apolis 6,  Indiana. 


The  American  Legion  Maga- 
zine is  the  otficial  publtca- 
'  tion  of  The  American  Legion 
ond  is  owned  exclusively  by 
The  American  Legion.  Copy- 
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cents;  yearly  subscription, 
SI. 25.  Entered  as  second 
doss  matter  June  30,  1948. 
ot  the  Post  Office  at  Louis- 
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ADVERTISING 
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Chicago  1,  Illinois 

James  F.  O'Neil,  Man 
Chester,  New  Hampshire 
Chairman  of  the  Legior 
Publicotions  Commission 
Members  of  the  Commission 
Vilas  H.  Wholey,  Racine 
Wis.:  Tom  W.  McCow,  Den 
nison,  Ohio;  Theodore  Cogs 
well,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Paul  B.  Dague,  Downing 
town,  Po.;  Josephus  Daniels 
Jr.,  Raleigh,  N.  C;  George 
D,  Levy,  Sumter,  5.  C;  Dr 
Charles  R.  Logon,  Keokuk 
Iowa;  Eorl  L.  Meyer,  Alii 
ance.  Neb.;  Charles  E 
Booth,  Huntington,  W.  Vo. 
A.  C.  Jockson,  Lubbock 
Texos;  Max  Slepin,  Phila 
delphia,  Pa.;  Roland  Cocre 
ham.  Baton  Rouge,  La. 
George  D.  Baron,  Bethany, 
Conn.,  Lang  Armstrong 
Spokane,  Wash.;  Earl  Hitch 
cock.  Glens  Foils,  N.  Y., 
Edgor  G.  Vaughn,  St.  Paul 
Minn.;  Harold  A.  Shindler 
Newburgh,  Ind. 

Director  of  Publications 

James  F.  Barton 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 
Ass't  to  Director 

Frank  Lisiecki 
Editor 

Alexander  Gardiner 
Monaging  Editor 

Boyd  B.  Stufler 
Executive  Editor 

Josepli  C.  Keeley 
Associate  Editor 

Robert  B.  Pitkin 

Art  Editor 
Al  Marshall 

Make-up  and  Production 
Editor 

Irving  Herschbein 

Advertising  Director 
Fred  L.  Moguire 

Eastern  Advertising  Monoger 
Russell  Holt 

Western  Advertising 
Manager 

Fred  E.  Crawford,  Jr. 


LEGION 


MAGAZINE 


May  1949 
CONTENTS 

Step  This  Way,  Sucker!  by  michael  macdougall  11 

When  you  head  for  carnival  concessions  you  head 
for  trouble 

How  Communists  Mal<e  Stooges  Out  of  Movie  Stars 

BY  R.  E.  COMBS  14 

Proving  that  many  film  celebrities  are  not  quite 
bright 

Wliat's  Wrong  with  U.  S.  History  by  john  dixon  16 

Reasons  why  our  children  sometimes  fall  for 
subversive  doctrines 

Quiz  Shows  from  the  Inside  by  joe  a.  gross  18 

A  pioneer  Q  &  A  man  tells  what  goes  on  behind 
the  mike 

My  Two-Dollar  Ulcer  Cure  by  john  reese  20 

Here's  a  treatment  you'll  enjoy,  and  the  man  says 
it  works 

Kids'  County  by  will  oursler  22 

Boys'  State  has  some  new  wrinkles  in  Nebraska 

Lest  We  Forget   24 

People  sometimes  forget  the  real  meaning  of 
Memorial  Day 

A  Ghost  Town  Comes  to  Life  by  parker  w.  kimball  26 

There's  something  to  see  in  the  sagebrush  hills 
of  Montana 

Monsters  in  U.  S.  Rivers  and  Lakes. .  .by  barney  peters  54 
Our  Life  In  the  Open  department  tells  about 
some  whoppers 


The  National  Legionnaire. ..  .29-36 

FEATURES 

Editors'  Corner   3    Newsletter   37 

Previews                          4  Report  from  Hollywood. .  44 

Sound  Off!    8    Vets  with  Ideas   49 

Parting  Shots    64 

Pleose  notify  the  Circulotion  Department,  Publications  Division,  P.  O.  Box 
1055,  Indionopolis,  Indiana,  if  you  hove  changed  your  address,  using 
notice  form  22S  which  yoo  will  secure  from  your  Postmoster.  Be  sure  to 
cut  off  the  address  label  on  your  magazine  and  paste  it  in  the  space  pro- 
vided. Always  give  your  1949  membership  card  number  and  both  your 
new  and  your  old  address. 


Our  May  cover  is  a  nostolgic  design 
of  the  resurgence  of  Spring,  the  epit- 
ome of  life  reborn.  One  notes  that  it 
is  a  boy,  not  a  man,  wfiom  v/e  see 
through  the  cJogv/ood  herding  cattle 
—  yet  another  symbol  of  new  life.  On 
the  other  hand  there  ore  some  sordid 
details.  Artist  Wally  Richards  studied 
rural  landscape  of  Ohio,  Kansas,  Mis- 
souri and  Connecticut  for  this  job,  and 
spent  over  fifteen  hours  analyzing  15(1 
prints  of  dogwood  blossoms  —  as  is, 
and  OS  used  in  design  by  other  artists, 
Japanese  and  American. 


PICTURE  CREDITS:  WIDE-WORLD  14;  WIDE-WORLD,  INTERNATIONAL  NEWS, 
ACME  15;  J.  A.  CROSS  18-19;  RAY  J.  MANLEY  OF  WESTERN  WAYS  26-27-28! 
AMERICAN   MUSEUM   OF   NATURAL  HISTORY,   KEYSTONE  VIEW   CO.  54. 


HOLD  ON  AND  LOOSEN 
YOUR  JAW 

Before  you  turn  to  page  54  lubricate 
your  jaw  a  little  so  it'll  drop  in  amaze- 
ment without  dislocating.  This  month's 
Life  in  the  Open  is  a  little  piece  called 
Monsters  in  American  Rivers  and  Lakes, 
with  photos.  It  is  going  to  amaze  you  un- 
less you  live  along  the  lower  Mississippi 
or  in  the  Pacific  Northwest. 

When  Gordon  MacQuarrie,  outdoor 
editor  of  The  Milwaukee  Journal,  said  on 
our  pages  recently  that  one  of  the  daily 
duties  of  an  outdoor  editor  is  to  settle 
arguments  between  drunks  about  record- 
breaking  big  fish,  we  raised  the  same 
argument  in  a  sober  moment.  Ever  since 
we  can  remember  we  have  heard  folks 
quibble  about  the  biggest  muskie  ever 
taken  with  rod-and-reel,  or  the  biggest 
black  bass  ever  taken  on  a  spinner.  We 
had  a  new  question  to  ask  and  we  got  hold 
of  Barney  Peters  to  find  the  answer. 
"Listen,  Barney,"  we  said,  "the  devil  with 
muskie,  bass,  rod-and-reel,  spinner  or 
any  other  trimmings.  Find  out  for  us 
what  the  biggest  fish  is  that  has  ever  been 
known  to  live  in  American  fresh  water  in 
modern  times.  We  don't  care  who  caught 
it  or  how  — or  what  kind  of  a  fish  it  was. 
Just  bring  in  a  record  of  the  biggest." 

It  took  Barney  a  long  time  and  he'll 
never  know  if  he  has  the  last  word  on 
the  subject.  But  hold  onto  your  chair 
and  turn  to  page  54  to  see  what  he  was 
able  to  discover. 

THEY'RE  FORGETTING  AGAIN 

Lest  We  Forget,  page  24,  is  of  course 
our  special  feature  for  the  month  in  which 
Memorial  Day  falls.  Two  things  of  in- 
terest may  be  said  about  (1)  the  article 
itself  and  (2)  the  sentiment  it  expresses. 
The  news  items  you  will  see  on  pages 
24  and  25  never  appeared  that  way.  Most 
of  the  items  were  prepared  for  this  issue 
as  they  would  have  appeared  if  there  had 
been  no  censorship  at  the  time  they  were 
written.  They  come,  in  some  cases,  from 
actual  reports  of  war  correspondents  as 
they  wrote  the  stories  before  wartime 
censors  cut  out  the  revealing  details.  The 
details  of  the  Pearl  Harbor  clipping  were 
not  known  until  some  time  later. 

As  for  the  sentiment  of  Lest  We  Forget 
—  there  is  growing  evidence  that  the  boys 
who  fought  in  War  Two  —  and  their 
widows  and  orphans  —  are  now  being 
forgotten,  just  as  the  boys  who  fought  in 
War  One  —  and  their  dependents  —  were 
eventually  forgotten  to  the  extent  that 
the  public  could  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
work  and  doings  of  the  Legion  and  other 
veterans'  organizations.  The  big  economy 
drive  is  under  way.  The  VA  budget  is 
being  slashed.  The  veterans'  hospital  pro- 


VETERANS 

Why  Hang  your  Career 
on  the  Wall? 

That  discharge  of  yours  stands 
for  a  wealth  of  hard-earned  ex- 
perience. Put  it  to  work  for  you! 

Re-enlistment  in  the  Regular 
Army  or  Air  Force  places  a  pre- 
mium on  all  the  skill  and 
schooling  you've  acquired. 

A  career  as  a  professional  soldier 
or  airman  will  reward  you 
greatly.  It  means  the  chance  for 
an  interesting  job,  with  sure 
advancement  and  pay  increases 
as  you  become  more  proficient. 

A  military  career  means  the 
satisfaction  of  service  to  yovtr 
country,  with  a  varied  list  of 
important  assignments  through- 
out the  world  ahead  of  you. 
New  friends,  new  surroundings, 
and,  always,  a  job  to  be  done 
that  requires  all  your  initiative 
and  determination. 

As  a  prior-service  man  you  have 
many  choices  and  opportimities 
available  to  you  as  you  plan 
your  new  future.  Visit  your  local 
Recruiting  Station  for  complete 
details  concerning  qualifications. 

That  discharge  certificate  looks 
good  on  the  wall,  but  remember 
— you  can't  frame  your  futvire! 

U.S.ARMY  AND 
U.S.AIR  FORCE 
RECRUITING  SERVICE 


PEACE  IS  AMERICA'S 
MOST  IMPORTANT  BUSINESS 

IHE  NEWARMT  AND  AIR  FORCE  OFFEfb; 

•  WIDEST  CHOICE  OF  CAREER  JOW 

•  eSSt  OPPORTUNIIT  FOR  ADVANCEMfWF 

•  UNUSUAI  RETIREMENt  BENEFITi 


fU.S.ARMYandU.S.AIR  FORCE 
RECRUITING  SERVICE 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May 


get  0  motor 
that  will  toke  you 
ere  there's  water 
ur  boat 


•  Yes . . .  with  this  revolutionary  drive  you 
can  go  "anywhere  there's  water  to  float 
your  boat."  And  what  a  world  of  differ- 
ence that  makes  to  your  fishing  fun  ! 

No  longer  need  you  dodge  reeds  and  weed 
beds  !  Or  hurriedly  cut  the  power  when  you 
approach  shoal  water.  Or  get  out  the  oars  where 
the  bottom  is  foul  with  logs,  snags,  rocks. 

Only  Evinrude  gives  you  the  FISHERMAN 
Drive  {patented^.  There's  nothing  like  it  for 
carefree  cruising  in  all  waters  !  And  for  '49 
it's  yours  on  three  of  America's  finest  fishing 
motors  . . .  Sportsman,  Sportwin,  and  the  four- 
cylinder  Zephyr. 

SEE  YOUR  EVINRUDE  DEALER  . .  .  and  see  the  complete  line  of 
40th  Anniversary  Evinrude  models  ...  1.5  to  50  certified 
horsepower  .  .  .  the  right  motor  for  every  boat.  Look  for  ' 
your  dealer's  name  under  "Outboard  Motors"  in  the 
yellow  pages  of  your  phone  directory.  Catalog  Free .  . . 
write  for  it  today !  EVINRUDE  MOTORS,  4282  N.  27th 
Street,  Milwaukee  9,  Wisconsin. 

In  Canada:  Evinrude  Motors,  Peterboro,  Ontario. 

Only  Evinrude  gives  you  Fishern^an  Drive. 


FREE 


Write  today  for  cata- 
log of  complete  line 
of_40th  Anniversary 
Evinrudes. 


FIRST  IN  OUTBOARDS 


40th  YIAR 


YOUR  VINDALE  ^^^^ 


Lt. 

Own  your  own  home  at  a 
price  you  can  afford  to  pay. 
Write  today  for  free  litera- 
ture on  the  30  and  23  foot 
Vindale  models. 


VINDALE  COACH  CO. 

Division  of  The  BrookviJIe  Prod.  Co.,  inc. 
Dept.  At,  SROOKVlUE,  OHIO 


One  Year  Written  Guaranteel 

ARMY  AIR  CORPS 
16  JEWEL 

ELGIN  *  $19.95 

Made  for  Pilots  and  Navi- 
gators of  the  U.  S.  Army 
Air  Forces.  They  had  to 
be  good.  Sturdy  16  Jewel 
Elgin  men's  wrist  watches.  Shock  resistant. 
Sweep  second  hand.  Luminous  hands  and  dial. 
Stainless  steel  back.  Unbreakable  crystal.  Water 
repellent.  Made  by  ELGIN,  one  of  America's 
outstanding  watch  manufacturers.  Fully  recon- 
ditioned. One  year  written  guarantee  sent 
with  each  watch.  Supply  limited!  SEND  NO 
MONEY.  Simply  pay  postman  $19.95  plus  10% 
tax  and  postage  on  delivery.  Cash  orders  sent 
postpaid.  UNITED  PRODUCTS  CO.  7941  S. 
Halsted  St.,  Dept.  RES-1130,  Chicago  20,  III. 


gram,  finely  written  but  not  yet  delivered, 
is  being  drastically  reduced.  On  all  sides 
people  who  once  supported  the  fine  War 
Two  veterans'  programs  are  saying,  "We 
weren't  really  playing  for  keeps.  Give  us 
back  our  marbles."  All  over  the  land  the 
symbol  of  forgetting  shows  itself  in  War 
Two  honor  rolls  rotting,  rusting,  tarnish- 
ing, and  falling  into  disrepair. 

Legionnaires  will  read  more  in  future 
issues  of  the  growing  inclination  to  make 
the  disabled  pay  for  the  rest  of  their  lives 
for  what  the  war  cost  them,  now  that  the 
shooting  is  well  behind  us  and  the  able- 
bodied  and  able-minded  feel  secure. 

HOW  TO  EAT  AND  LIKE  IT 

Our  medical  article  this  month  is  about 
stomach  ulcers  and  it  is  by  a  former 
patient.  If  that  ancient  and  painful  disease, 
gout,  is  nature's  punishment  for  living  too 
well,  then  that  modern  and  equally  pain- 
ful disease,  stomach  ulcers,  is  nature's 
punishment  for  struggling  to  make  enough 
to  live  well  enough  to  have  gout.  Of  course 
it's  not  as  simple  as  that  —  but  stomach 
ulcers  are  the  product  of  "nervous  worry- 
ing" and  most  of  us  worry  nervously  about 
making  both  ends  meet  these  days,  if 
we're  the  worrying  type.  One  could  also 
get  ulcers  by  fretting  over  his  Pekinese's 
chance  to  win  the  dog  show  or  from  fear- 
ing that  the  neighbors  are  saying  unkind 
things  about  him,  and  spending  all  his 
time  dwelling  on  the  retort  he's  going  to 
make  or  should  have  made.  Worry  isn't 
"real,"  physically,  but  when  a  man  has 
worried  himself  into  ulcers  the  ulcers  are 
very  real.  Then  he  can  worry  about  the 
ulcers  and  make  some  more  of  them  —  a 
vicious  circle  which  happens  and  is  very 
unpleasant. 

Our  family  doctor  and  some  of  his 
friends  have  read  My  Two-Dollar  Ulcer 
Cure,  by  John  Reese,  page  20,  and  find 
nothing  wrong  with  it  when  taken  exactly 
as  stated  by  Reese.  They  add  that  any- 
body who  feels  he's  under  pressure  could 
profit  from  Reese's  "treatment"  whether 
he  has  ulcers  or  not. 

WHEN  IN  MONTANA  SEE  THIS 

Because  of  Henry  Plummer  and  his  ilk, 
Virginia  City,  Montana  (not  to  be  con- 
fused with  that  other  Virginia  City  of 
Western  lore  in  Nevada)  is  the  site  of 
some  of  the  most  daring  stagecoach  rob- 
beries and  most  brazen  conspiracies  be- 
tween law-officers  and  outlaws  in  all  the 
rugged  history  of  the  West.  And  there  the 
Vigilantes  rode  in  the  night  —  decent  citi- 
zens re-usurping  the  law  from  cutthroats, 
finally  restoring  sanity  and  order  to  ground 
rich  in  minerals  and  red  with  the  blood 
of  innocents. 

Just  before  Christmas,  1862,  Hen 
Plummer  —  a  shrewd,  slender,  blue-eyed, 
intelligent  man  with  a  black  shadow  hov- 
ering over  his  past  —  rode  into  Bannack, 
adjoining  Virginia  City.  He  was  accom- 
panied, because  he  could  not  shake  him 
ofP,  by  a  wheedling,  quarrelsome  com- 
panion, Jack  Cleveland,  who  knew  his 
past. 

Plummer  came,  he  told  Cleveland,  to 
make  a  new  start  and  an  honest  life.  He 
concealed  from  townfolk  the  fact  that  he 
had  already  run  a  robber  gang  and  led 


•  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


YovLve  in  good  compamy 
when  youve  got 


a  life  of  seduction  and  crime  in  California. 
He  married  a  local  girl  and  became  a 
"reputable  citizen."  In  a  drunken  brawl 
he  slew  the  blabbing  Cleveland  —  dan- 
gerous key  to  his  past  —  and  soon  found 
in  Bannack  and  Virginia  City  members 
of  his  old  gang,  to  which  additions  were 
quickly  made  —  including  the  cannibal 
Boone  Helm. 

Plummer's  poise,  his  seeming  respect- 
ability, his  fearlessness  among  the  local 
toughies  who  were  really  his  friends,  and 
his  speed  on  the  draw  soon  won  him  the 
office  of  sheriff.  From  this  responsible  post 
he  led  an  amazing  double  life  —  and  di- 
rected his  cronies  in  the  robbery  of  the 
gold-laden  stage  coaches.  Seldom  if  ever 
did  a  witness  survive.  An  entire  party  of 
merchants  and  miners  moving  out  with 
their  profits  was  robbed  and  slain  in  the 
mountain  passes  to  California. 

The  Plummer  interlude  in  Virginia  City 
and  Bannack,  from  the  day  he  arrived  to 
the  time  the  amazed  Vigilantes  strung 
their  sheriff  up  by  the  neck  with  twenty- 
three  of  his  companions,  is  a  thrilling, 
dark  chapter  in  America's  early  history 
of  bold  crime  and  quick  justice. 

Virginia  City  is  a  monument  to  days  gone 
by  when  strong  hands  and  strong  hearts 
carved  a  nation  out  of  the  wilderness  and 
held  it  against  despoilers.  It  is  one  of  the 
few  such  monuments  which  is  being  pre- 
served for  you  to  see  today  in  a  form  not 
unlike  that  which  it  possessed  in  its  hey- 
day —  as  Parker  A.  Kimball  reports  in 
A  Ghost  Town  Comes  to  Lije,  page  26. 

LOOKING  AHEAD  IN  YOUR 
LEGION  MAGAZINE 

They  called  it  Unification  of  the  Armed 
Forces,  so  they  went  ahead  and  made  a 
third  one  and  stymied  the  Defense  Secre- 
tary and  now  we  have  three  armed  forces 
scrapping  like  cats  and  dogs  where  we 
once  had  only  two.  In  next  month's  issue 
National  Commander  Perry  Brown,  who 
has  been  battling  for  sensible  national 
security  for  three  decades,  gives  you  an 
inside  peek  at  the  Unification  scrap  in  an 
article  called  A  Fighting  Chance  for  Uni- 
fication. It's  an  eyebrow  lifter. 

Also  coming  your  way  between  our 
covers  in  June  is  the  testimony  of  several 
outstanding  optimists  who  say  a  man  can 
still  make  a  million  dollars  — and  do  it 
honestly.  Harold  Heifer  reports  their 
rosy  views  in  You  Can  Still  Make  a 
Million. 

Then  there's  a  prizefight  yarn  about  a 
man  who  could  only  win  by  being 
knocked  out.  And  again  we'll  bow  to  the 
millions  of  Legionnaire  home-owners, 
this  time,  with  a  short  but  sound  article 
on  what  you  ought  to  know  before  you 
paint  your  house,  by  paint  expert  Jim 
Jenkins,  Jr. 

More,  too.  Ben  Gitlow,  who  once  ran 
the  Communist  Party  in  America  before 
he  saw  the  light,  tells  What  Makes  Them 
Communists.  Myron  Stearns,  outstanding 
traffic-safety  expert,  explains  How  Truck 
Drivers  Suruiue  — fascinating  stuff  about 
men  who  lose  their  jobs  if  they  don't 
know  more  about  the  hidden  language 
of  the  highway  than  ordinary  folks  like 
us.  All  this  and  more  too  in  your  mailbox 
before  June  1.  „  „  „ 

R*  D,  P. 


^11 'means  Rpe  Appeal 


The  NEW  HUMIDOR  TOP-locks  OUT  the 
air-locks  IN  the  freshness  and  flavor. 


•  See  for  yourself  why  Prince  Albert 
has  long  been  known  as  the  National 
Joy  Smoke!  You'll  find  that  P.  A.  is  easy 
on  the  tongue  . . .  specially  treated  to  in- 
sure against  tongue  bite!  That  choice 
tobacco  is  rich-tasting  . . .  and  crimp  cut, 
to  smoke  cool  and  even 
right  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  bowl! 


R.  i.  Reynolds  Tobacco  Co.,  Wlnnton-Salem,  N.  0 


pX^  FAMOUS  CRMP 

CUT  MAKES  ClGAf^ETTES^ 
flOLLUPfASJANOEASf 


The  national  joy  smoke 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


Far  and  away  — 

the  most  important  contribution 

to  your  game  in  years! 

—  revolutionary,  new 

method  of  golf  ball  construction 
gives  Wilson  Top  Notch  and  K-28 
balls  amazing  new  performance. 


—  the  greatest  golf  ball 
development  since  the 
advent  of  the  v\^ound  ball 

Every  Top  Notch  and  K-28  ball 
has  dynamic  balance  .  .  .  flies 
true  .  .  .  rolls  true.  New  Iso- 
tropic liquid  center  and  elec- 
tric-eye controlled  high  tension 
winding  give  pay-off  distance. 
You'll  know  it's  a  super  ball  the 
instant  you  hit  one  and  hear 
its  sharp  distinctive  click.  Ask 
for  Top  Notch  at  your  pro's 
shop,  K-28  at  leading  sporting 
goods   and   department  stores. 


And  remember  —  matched  and  registered  Wilson 
Strata-Bloc  woods  and  Precision  Built  irons  (with 
Wilson  patented  Reminder-Gruv-Grip)  give  better 
club  control  —  greater  accuracy.  There  are  no 
finer  clubs. 


Wilson  Sporting  Goods  Co.,  Chicago 

fA  subsidiary  of  Wilson  &  Co.,  IncJ 
Branch  offices  in  New  York,  San  Francisco 
and  other  principal  cities 

TODAY  IN  SPORTS  EQUIPMENT 


reviews 


OF  PRODUCTS 

INVEIVTIOIVS 

IDEAS 


A  sampling  of  products  which 
are  in  process  of  development 
or  are  coming  on  the  market 


LESS  WEIGHT  LESS  RECOIL.  Two  completely  new  autoloading  shotguns,  lighter  than 
previous  types  and  with  astonishingly  little  recoil,  have  been  announced  by  the 
Remington  Arms  Company,  Bridgeport,  Conn.  Known  as  Model  11-48  and  the 
Sportsman  48,  the  guns  will  be  available  in  12,  16,  and  20  gauges.  Through  advanced 
design  and  new  materials,  approximately  a  pound  has  been  saved  in  the  12-gauge 
gun.  They  will  be  on  the  market  in  quantity  by  the  time  hunting  season  opens,  and 
each  will  sell  for  $99.95. 


TO  KEEP  CLOTHES  LINED  UP.  Legionnaire  Wilbur  E.  Frey, 
of  114  Fifth  Ave.,  West  Bend,  Wis.,  is  offering  a  gadget 
which  a  lot  of  people  will  find  as  useful  as  it  is  inexpensive. 
In  effect,  it's  a  clothes-pin  for  a  coat  hanger,  to  keep  it 
from  slipping  when  it  is  hung  on  a  line.  Called  a  Clip-it, 
the  item  resembles  an  oversize  rubber  washer  which  wraps 
around  the  line  and  is  held  firmly  in  place  when  the  hanger 
is  inserted  in  it.  You  can  get  a  card  containing  three  Clip-its 
for  15c  postpaid. 


ATOM  ENGINE  FOR  SHIPS.  Scientists  and  engineers  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric 
Corporation  have  been  assigned  the  job  of  building  the  world's  first  "atomic  engine" 
to  drive  Navy  ships.  Under  an  Atomic  Energy  Commission  contract,  the  nuclear 
reactor  for  shipboard  use  will  be  engineered  and  built  in  the  Pittsburgh  area,  but 
will  be  tested  at  a  remote  location. 


SMALL  FRY  FASHION  NOTE.  You'll  be  seeing  something  new 
this  summer  wherever  you  find  kids  interested  in  baseball. 
Pacific  Mills,  of  New  York  City,  is  introducing  shirts  and 
shorts  which  feature  all  the  major  league  baseball  teams. 
A  junior  Giant  fan,  for  instance,  can  be  spotted  a  mile 
away  by  the  distinctive  Giant  motif  in  his  haberdashery. 
Ranging  in  size  from  4  to  18,  the  shirts  will  sell  for  about 
$1.95  and  the  shorts  for  $1.65.  They  will  be  sold  through 
leading  department  stores,  and  you'll  be  hearing  more 
about  them  because  of  a  huge  promotion  being  prepared. 
Contests  of  various  kinds  will  be  conducted,  and  winners 
will  get  trips  to  the  World  Series  and  other  attractive  awards. 


FIRST  AID  FOR  CRACKED  PLASTER.  A  30<  investment  in  an 
ingenious  item  called  Peter  Putter's  Plaster  Pencil  will 
save  you  time  in  filling  cracks  and  nicks  in  plaster,  wall- 
board  and  woodwork.  Resembling  a  large  crayon,  it 
requires  no  preparation  except  to  remove  an  outside 
film  on  the  tip  of  the  pencil.  The  pencil  is  drawn  firmly 
and  evenly  over  the  damaged  surface  and  smoothed  with 
a  putty  knife.  The  surface  can  be  painted  immediately 
if  necessary.  The  Plaster  Pencil  is  made  by  Schalk 
Chemical  Co.,  351  E.  Second  St.,  Los  Angeles  12. 


WOOD  VS.  STEEL.  The  Nationa'  Iron  &  Steel  Institute  may  not  like  this,  but  two 
ex-service  men  are  spreading  the  word  that  metal  boxes  cause  fishing  gear  to  rust. 
The  reason,  they  say,  is  because  water  condenses  on  the  inside,  and  that  isn't  good. 
So  to  remedy  matters  they  are  going  into  production  with  a  wooden  fishing  tackle 
box.  Made  of  waterproof  plywood  with  locked  corners,  its  dimensions  are  13"  by  6%" 
by  7",  and  it  is  finished  inside  with  waterproof  velvet  flock.  An  added  attraction  is  a 
partitioned  tray,  also  finished  in  velvet  flock,  and  the  box  has  an  unbreakable  plastic 
handle  with  solid  brass  fittings.  All  this  for  $4.95  postpaid  from  the  vets,  operating  as 
The  Boxmakers,  Box  1045,  Watsonville,  C'al. 


The  American  Legion  Magcizine  •  May,  1949 


SPACE-SAVING  DEPT.  In  February  we  told  you  how  to  save 
some  closet  space  with  a  gadget  that  folded  up.  Now  we 
save  you  some  more  space  with  a  gimmick  that  swings 
out.  By  September  you  may  be  able  to  move  a  baby  grand 
into  your  closet,  if  we  keep  piling  up  your  space.  This 
time  the  space-saver  is  the  Stack-a-Door.  It's  a  sectional 
cabinet,  22"  high,  20%"  wide  and  4"  deep,  made  of  heavy 
gauge  steel,  and  it  slips  over  the  pins  on  a  flat  hmge 
easily  installed  behind  any  standard  door.  When  closed 
it's  a  dust-proof  cabinet  big  enough  to  hold  a  lot  of  stuff 
on  its  three  shelves,  and  you  can  hang  as  many  as  three 
Stack-a-Doors  on  a  single  door.  The  price  is  $5.98  each,  with  all  hardware,  and  the 
manufacturer  is  Dubofi  and  Company,  1150  Broadway,  New  York  1. 

NEW  LIFE  FOR  OlD  BEACH  CHAIRS.  When  the  canvas  of  your  beach  chair  becomes 
hopelessly  weather-beaten,  it  is  now  possible  to  replace  it  without  being  an  expert 
needleman.  All  you  need  is  a  scissors  to  cut  the  old  canvas  and  a  Hook-on  Sun  Seat, 
made  by  the  M.D.  Pinner  Co.,  P.O.  Box  181,  Times  Square  Station,  New  York  18: 
This  is  a  replacement  canvas  cover  which  snaps  into  place  with  S-hooks  around 
wooden  rods.  Adjustable  to  all  standard  size  chairs  from  47"  to  50"  seat  lengths,  it 
is  made  of  strong,  water  repellent  drill  in  multi-stripe  combinations  of  blue,  brown, 
green  and  orange.  It  retails  for  $1.89  postpaid. 


MUSIC  COMES  IN  COLORS.  Record  enthusiasts  may  argue 
about  the  relative  merits  of  the  new  33%  and  45-rpm  discs, 
but  RCA-Victor  can  safely  claim  the  edge  so  far  as  looks 
are  concerned.  Their  new  small-size  records  will  come  in 
seven  different  colors  —  ruby  red  for  classical  music,  mid- 
night blue  for  semi-classical,  jet  black  for  popular,  lemon- 
drop  yellow  for  children's,  grass  green  for  Western,  sky 
blue  for  international,  and  cerise  for  folk  music.  The  release 
announcing  this  said  nothing  about  a  striped  red-and- 
white  disc  for  barber-shop  quartets,  but  that  of  course 
may  come  later. 


NAME  TAPES  YOU  NEEDN'T  SEW.  A  new  wrinkle  in  name  tapes  makes  it  a  simple  matter 
to  attach  them  to  laundry,  linens,  etc.,  to  prevent  loss  and  make  identification  easy. 
By  means  of  a  thermoplastic  backing,  the  new  tapes  can  be  ironed  on  permanently 
in  ten  seconds,  and  according  to  the  manufacturer  they  cannot  be  removed  by 
washing,  dry  cleaning,  ironing  or  wearing.  Called  Presto-Name  Tapes,  they  cost 
$2.00  for  150,  or  $3.00  for  300  postpaid,  with  your  name  printed  clearly  in  color-fast 
black  or  red  dye  on  white  cotton.  The  manufacturer  is  March  Products  Co.,  274  Pearl 
St.,  New  York  7. 

FIVE-POUND  BOAT.  Some  sort  of  a  record  for  portability 
is  set  by  a  new  boat  called  the  Bil-Boat  Sr.  Although  it 
will  hold  several  people  (one  photograph  shows  five 
children  and  an  adult),  it  folds  into  a  box  16"  by  16"  by 
8",  and  weighs  only  five  pounds.  Made  of  heavy-duty 
Vinylite,  it  is  inflated  through  four  valves,  each  of  which 
feeds  an  independent  air  channel.  Further  safety  is  pro- 
vided by  a  level,  inflated  bottom  which  prevents  tipping. 
Suggested  for  camping  trips,  overland  portage,  water- 
skiing,  fishing  or  as  an  extra  dinghy,  the  boat  sells  for 
about  $25.  The  manufacturer  is  Bilnor  Corp.,  71-73  Baruch 

Place,  New  York  2.  A  much  smaller  version,  the  Bil-Boat  Jr.,  for  youngsters,  is 
available  at  about  $10. 

FLIP-UP  TELEVISION  ANTENNA.  Borrowing  an  idea  from  the  umbrella,  Transvision, 
Inc.,  of  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  has  brought  out  an  ingenious  TV  antenna  which  flips  up 
into  position.  Capable  of  receiving  all  television  channels,  it  is  said  to  eliminate  the 
need  for  two  separate  antenna  installations  for  high  and  low  TV  bands.  It  comes 
pre-assembled  on  a  rotatable  base,  ready  for  use,  and  is  pre-wired  so  its  two  terminals 
need  only  be  connected  to  the  lead-in.  List  price  is  $9.95,  and  additional  information 
can  be  obtained  from  the  manufacturer. 

FOR  PROFESSIONAL  PUTTYING.  A  new  double-ended  putty  knife  that  simplifies  window- 
puttying  has  been  announced  by  the  Fastener  Corporation,  860  Fletcher  St.,  Chicago 
14.  In  addition  to  the  usual  fiat  spreader,  the  Duo-Fast  Putty  Knife  has  a  V-shaped 
blade  that  packs  and  shapes  the  right  amount  of  putty  tightly  in  place.  Excess  putty  is 
trimmed  ofE  through  a  slot  in  the  shaper  end.  The  knife  retails  for  $1.00.  J.  c.  K. 

When  writing  to  manufacturers  concerning  items  mentioiied  here  kindly 
mention  that  you  read  about  them  in  The  American  Legion  Magazine. 


V0(/8LE  ACTION 

MOTOR  OIL 

STAYS  TOUGH/ 

Sound  your  "l!'  when 
you  drive  in  for  the 
genuine.  Sold  coost- 
to-coost  by  better 
dealers  at  this  sign. 


s^^^'elubricalv^ 


i'n  .  rVrmit  No 


Toug/i-fi/m  PENNZO/L*  gives  a//  engines 
an  exira  margin  of  saiety 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


ENJOY  power  riding,  the  fun-way  to  go 
places  ...  at  low  cost !  You'll  be  amazed 
how  easy  the  Harley-Davidson  125  handles, 
how  peppy  and  smooth  it  is,  how  safely  and 
comfortably  it  takes  you  anywhere  you  want 
to  go.  Ideal  for  riding  to  school,  shop,  office, 
picnics,  outings  and  errands.  Very  economical 
to  operate.  Owners  report  90  miles  and  more 
per  gallon.  Thousands  now  in  use.  See  your 
dealer  and  ask  him  for  a  FREE  ride  today. 
HARLEY- DAVIDSON  MOTOR  CO.,  DEPT.  AL.  MILWAUKEE  1,  WIS. 


BUILT  FOR  SAFE  RIDING 

•  Brakes  on  both  wheels  •  3-speed  trans- 
mission •  Big  wheels,  big  tires  •  Easy  steer- 
ing and  handling  •  Brilliant  night  lighting 


SOLE  LEATHER 

EBERLE  TANNING  CO.,  WESTFI  ELD,  PENNA. 


PIPE  COLLECTORS 

IMPORTED  "HUNTSMAN" 

Here   is   an   unusual  Bohemian 
pipe   imported   direct  from 
S'A"         Europe.   For   a   new  smoking 
Long  thrill,  try  this  rare  and 

JH.     beautiful  old-world  pipe, 
iil^jft  briar  bowl  packs  a 

t^fgm  heap  of  cool,  sweet  smoking. 

Has  hinged  lid  for  draft  con- 
^Kb  trol.   Length   6V4".  Remov- 
Imported  ^BB  able  bottom  for  easy  clean- 
Bo'w[    BBs'"^'  ■'"^^  mail  coupon.  Upon 
^g2<l^'>vcy  P^y  postman  only 

RpmnvahiA  ^^"WtLlj^Bililffi^   l!^*^^  back  if  pipe 
^H^SS^^^^g  unsmoked 

$9  Q^i    ^^^^wj^i^l  titTesMmit- 
^awvl  IgBHBl^^     ed  —  send 

SEND  NO  MONEY      ^^g^^      NOW?  ° 

'    MARK   FOSTER.   Dept.   HT  75  i 

I    179  Wooster  St.,  New  York  12,  N.  Y.  ■ 

Please  send  the  Huntsman  pipe  as  advertised. 

I   On  arrival,  I  will  pay  postman  only  .$2.95.  plus  | 

delivery.  If  not  delighted  I  may  return  pipe  un- 

I  smoked  within  5  days  for  refund.  | 

I  Name    | 

I  Address    | 

I City   Zone         State    . 

NOTE;  If  remittance  is  included  with  coupon.  I 
I  we  pay  delivery  charges.  | 


Writers  must  give  name  and  address.  Name 
withheld  if  requested.  So  many  letters  are 
being  received  it  is  not  possible  to  promise 
answers.  Keep  your  letter  short.  Address: 
Sound  Off,  The  American  Legion  Maga- 
zine, One  Park  Ave.,  New  York  16,  N.  Y. 

SPRINGFIELD  THAT  GOOD? 

The  minute  I  saw  the  picture  of  Main 
Street,  Springfield,  Massachusetts  in  the 
January  issue  of  your  magazine,  I  just 
had  to  read  the  article  under  it,  Where 
Do  You  Want  to  Go?  by  Jimmy  Jemail. 
Time  out  for  a  plug  for  Springfield.  It 
has  everything  anyone  could  want  in  a 
home  town,  whether  he  has  rural  or  urban 
leanings.  Springfield  has  all  of  the  assets 
and  none  of  the  drawbacks  of  both  city 
and  small  town  life.  Try  it  and  see. 

Mrs.  Eugene  Wein 
No.  Adams,  Mass. 

POSTAL  VETERANS'  PAY 

This  being  "Brotherhood  Week,"  I 
thought  perhaps  it  would  be  an  appro- 
priate time  to  write  the  following  article, 
which  is  intended  to  be  constructive 
criticism.  Like  many  thousands  of  my 
World  War  II  buddies,  upon  discharge 
from  the  armed  forces  after  serving  sev- 
eral years,  I  have  been  employed  in  the 
U.S.  Postal  department,  and  have  obtained 
a  Civil  Service  appointment, 

I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  a  spe- 
cific section  of  Public  law  #134,  a  law 
which  granted  an  increase  of  $400  to  those 
employed  in  the  Postal  department  as 
clerks,  and  carriers,  prior  to  July  1,  1945. 

What  the  basis  for  passing  such  a  law 
designating  that  certain  date  was,  I'll 
never  know.  But  I  know  that  it  indi- 
rectly is  a  discriminatory  piece  of  legisla- 
tion. Thousands  of  ex-servicemen  and 
their  families,  who  likewise  need  and 
should  be  receiving  the  same  considera- 
tion for  the  same  work  are  being  penalized. 

Legionnaire 
Las  Vegas,  Nev. 

ON  BEING  AN  AMERICAN 

Why  is  it  that  when  individuals  are 
asked  what  nationality  they  are,  they  in- 
variably answer  Italian,  German,  Norwe- 
gian, and  so  on.  Why  don't  they  say,  "I  am 
an  American"  if  they  are  born  in  the 
United  States?  If  they  are  asked  as  to 
their  descent,  then  Italian,  German,  and 
the  like  is  the  correct  answer.  I  do  believe 
that  most  of  these  persons  do  not  mean 
to  be  disrespectful;  however,  that  is  be- 
side the  point. 

Last  week  I  attended  a  funeral.  There 
were  seven  of  us  in  the  car.  Believe  it 


or  not,  I  was  the  only  American.  There 
were  two  Germans,  one  Swede,  two 
Norwegians,  and  one  Frenchman,  yet  all 
of  them  were  born  in  this  country. 

Don't  you  think  the  fault  lies  in  our 
homes,  and  our  schools  as  well?  Try  this 
experiment.  Ask  any  child  you  meet  what 
nationality  he  is,  or  an  adult  for  that 
matter,  and  listen  for  the  answer.  You 
will  be  surprised,  I  know,  because  I  ex- 
perienced this  sort  of  thing  in  schools 
where  I  taught  music.  Right  there  and 
then,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  before  the 
semester  was  over,  all  the, children  who 
so  eagerly  replied  anything  but  "Amer- 
ican" would  be  taught  to  say  "I  am  an 
American." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  time  I  asked 
Johnny's  mother  about  her  nationality. 
She  replied,  "Irish."  Johnny  looked  up 
quite  embarrassed  and  said,  "Mother,  why 
don't  you  say  'American,'  you  were  born 
in  America,  weren't  you?"  "Oh  yes,  of 
course,"  replied  Johnny's  mother. 
See  what  I  mean? 

Martha  Marlowe 
Service  Officer 
American  Legion 
Department  of  Illinois 

PACIFIC  COAST  BASEBALL 

The  three  Legionnaires  in  my  office  — 
WWl  and  WW2  both  represented  —  came 
running  in  a  few  mornings  ago  to  place 
on  my  desk  the  February  '49  issue  of 
your  magazine  with  your  excellent  article 
on  major  league  baseball  prospects  for 
our  fast  growing  Pacific  Coast  (The  Pacific 
Coast  Baseball  Rebellion). 

To  say  I  enjoyed  your  article,  and  your 
recognition  of  my  efforts  to  help  us  "attain 
our  majority"  in  our  one  vulnerable  in- 
stance of  civic  immaturity,  would  be  an 
understatement.  Particularly  did  I  enthuse 
over  your  discussion  and  illustrations  of 
comparative  sports  attendance. 

As  a  member  and  former  president  of 
the  Los  Angeles  Memorial  Coliseum  Com- 
mission, I  have  a  profound  interest  in 
promoting  the  best  in  sports  activities  in 
our  community.  As  a  sports  fan,  and  civic 
minded  citizen,  I  have  a  tremendous  desire 
to  see  major  league  baseball  played  here. 

Thanks  for  helping  to  awaken  the  rest 
of  the  country  to  our  justified  demand  for 
sports  attractions  in  keeping  with  our 
needs  and  ability  to  support  them.  I  hope 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  reading  your 
follow-up  article  when  we  get  what  we 
are  after. 

Leonard  J.  Roach 

Supervisor,  Los  Angeles  County 
Los  Angeles,  Calif. 


g  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


Smart  Men  buy  PM 

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BLENDBD  WHISKEY 


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National  Distillers  Products  Corporation,  New  York,  N.  Y.     Blended  Whiskey.     86  Proof     70%  Grain  Neutral  Spirits. 


4<n 

MEMORIAL  DAY 

OFFICIAL  POST  CAPS 


MASSACHUSETTS 


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OFFICIAL  SHIRTS 
AND  TIES 


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Made  of  finest  materials,  cut  full  to  assure  perfect  fit  and  maximum  com- 
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ordering.  Prices:  No.  2  (Blue)  $5.10,  No.  1  (White)  $4.85 

Ties — Available  in  Legion  blue  or  gold.  Specify  color  desired.  Price.  .  .90c 


NATIONAL  EMBLEM  SALES,  BOX  1055,  INDIANAPOLIS  6,  INDIANA 
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Name._ 
Street.. 
City  


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The  proper  display  of  the  American  Flag  on 
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is  a  distinct  contribution  to  Americanism,  and 
a  flag  should  be  displayed  by  every  Legionnaire. 
These  attractive  flag  sets  are  available  in  sev- 
eral different  combinations. 

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Price  $7.95 

STREET  SETS 

Style  BB  (illustrated  right)  3'  x  5'  fast  color,  re- 
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Style  B — Same  as  Style  BB  except  furnished  with 
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Style  MM — Same  as  Style  BB  except  furnished  with 
jointed  two-piece  Columbia  polished  steel  pole, 
12'  x  eagle,  halyard,  and  sidewalk  holder  with 
non-rusting  screw  cap.  Price  $5.95 

Style  M — Same  as  style  B  except  furnished  with 
jointed  two-piece  Columbia  polished  steel  pole, 
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non-rusting  screw  cap.  Price  $7.50 

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AID  LEGION  PROGRAMS 

Buy  from  National  Emblem  Sales 


.state.. 


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The  1949  Legion  Emblem  cat- 
alog includes  a  complete  line  of 
Flags  and  banners,  grave 
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COPYRIGHT  1949 
BY  THE  AMERICAN  LEGION 
INDIANAPOLIS.  IMD. 


This  Way 
Sucker  ! 


At  carnivals  and  county  fairs  the 
ferris  wheels  and  popcorn  are  on 
the  level.  But  this  expert  claims 
the  games  are  crooked  as  a  pretzel 


By  MICHAEL  MacDOUGALL 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  JOHN  McDERMOTT 

TANDiNG  IN  the  middle  of  the  lot,  surrounded 
by  the  unusual  sights  and  sounds  and  smells 
of  the  carnival,  a  tingle  of  anticipation  runs 
up  your  spine.  Adventure,  excitement,  pleas- 
ure—all these  and  more  are  promised. 

The  Ferris  wheel  creaks  to  a  stop,  picks  up  a  new 
load  of  passengers.  The  merry-go-round  sights  and 
sounds  bring  back  nostalgic  memories.  In  the  center  of 
the  midway  a  weight  guesser  kids  a  fat  lady.  The  odor 
of  buttered  popcorn  and  crushed  grass  mingles  with  the 
heat  of  thousands  of  uncovered  electric  lights.  To  the  left 
a  line  of  concessions  extends  down  the  midway,  where 


11 


AT  THE  CRY  ••lk\,  liube,' 


the  carnival  men  descended  on  the  friends  of  the.  local  boy  who  had  been  slugged  for  protesting 


so-called  skill  games  predominate. 
Toss  three  balls  in  the  bucket  and  win 
a  blanket;  knock  down  the  bowling  pin 
and  get  a  brand  new  suitcase;  roll  the 
marbles  into  the  correct  holes  for  a 
handsome  prize.  A  man  steps  into  the 
roadway  counting  a  fistful  of  bills. 
"Hey,  Mac,"  he  calls,  "I  just  won 
twenty  dollars." 

"That's  the  way  to  start  the  eve- 
ning," you  think.  Win  enough  to  pay 
your  way  into  all  the  shows,  on  all  the 
rides.  Have  a  wonderful  time,  and  all 
for  free.  So  you  head  for  the  conces- 
sions, and  financial  disaster.  For  of  all 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  outdoor  gam- 
bling booths  operated  by  professional 
personnel  at  fairs,  carnivals,  exposi- 
tions, or  bazaars,  scarcely  one  is  on 
the  level. 

Get  that.  Scarcely  one. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  streets  of 

12 


chance,  the  hundred  thousand  men  and 
women  who  own  and  run  these  profes- 
sional pseudo-gambling  devices,  are 
all  penny-ante  swindlers,  truly  ene- 
mies of  the  suckers  who  patronize 
them.  That's  the  name  they  give  their 
customers  —  suckers. 

See  the  wheel  where  for  a  dime  you 
can  win  ten  dollars?  You  can  examine 
that  wheel  as  much  as  you  wish,  take 
it  apart  and  put  it  together  again,  and 
still  the  operator  can  prevent  you  from 
winning.  How?  Suppose  all  the  num- 
bers are  covered  except  nineteen.  The 
concessionaire  shouts  the  usual  warn- 
ing: "Here  she  starts  and  around  she 
goes,  where  she'll  stop  nobody  knows. 
Put  your  money  back  in  your  clothes, 
no  more  bets  for  Old  Man  Mose." 

That  little  ditty  means  that  no  more 
wagers  can  be  made  after  the  wheel 
starts  spinning,  hence  no  one  can  get 


down  on  number  nineteen.  The  opera- 
tor brings  the  wheel  around  so  the  un- 
played  number  is  just  to  the  left  of 
the  indicator,  and  starts  it  twirling. 
You've  seen  nothing  wrong,  but  that 
wheel  will  stop  on  number  nineteen. 
Just  before  the  starting  thrust  the 
operator  stuck  a  silver  dollar  which 
had  been  palmed  in  his  right  hand  onto 
.  the  back  of  the  wheel  directly  opposite 
number  nineteen.  Because  the  wheel 
is  finely  balanced,  and  the  soft  indi- 
cator offers  little  resistance,  that  added 
weight,  responding  to  the  law  of  grav- 
ity, carries  the  silver  dollar  to  the  bot- 
tom and  number  nineteen  to  the  top. 

Ever  notice  that  the  man  behind  the 
counter,  and  all  his  assistants,  are  ex- 
tremely fond  of  chewing  gum?  That's 
because  they  need  a  mouthful  every 
now  and  then  to  hold  the  silver  dollar 
in  place.  Simple  when  you  know  how, 


Here  Are  A  Few  Of  The  Tricks  By  Whicll  Carnival  Games  Rook  Honest  Townfolk 


HOW  DOES  THE  WHEEL  always  stop  at  the  wrong  number?  One  way 
the  operator  manages  it  is  to  stick  a  silver  dollar  on  the  back 
of  the  wheel,  behind  the  number  opposite  his  own  selection.  Chew- 
ing gum  holds  the  dollar  on,  and  it  stops  at  the  bottom,  bringing 
the  operator's  desired  number  to  the  top.  There  are  lots  of  other 
ways  to  do  this  trick  too,  so  beware. 


WIN  MONEY!  Drop  the  discs 
so  they  cover  the  red  circle! 
Only  trouble  is  the  red  circle 
is  just  a  little  off  true  on  one 
side,  and  one  of  the  discs  is 
too.  Put  the  ofl-shape  disc 
just  so  on  the  off-shape  part 
of  the  circle  and  the  rest  is 
easy.  However,  this  game 
was  planned  by  experts  and 
the  naked  eye  can't  find  the 
irregularities,  which  are  ex- 
aggerated in  our  diagram. 
You  might  stack  the  discs  all 
together  to  find  the  odd  one 
—  but  if  you  seem  too  smart 
you'll  never  hold  them  all  at 
once. 


HOLD  THE  BALL  beside  the 
bowling  pin  and  push  it 
away.  If  it  knocks  the  pin 
down  on  return  swing  you 
win!  If  the  pin  is  centered 
this  is  impossible,  but  that's 
hard  to  believe  when  the 
operator  does  it  any  time  he 
\ wishes.  Gimmick  is  the 
spotting  peg"  on  counter, 
/which  fits  into  hole  too  big 
for  it,  and  allows  off-center 
placing  of  pin.  Black  outline 
is  centered  pin,  which  can't 
be  downed.  Slid  to  red  posi- 
tion return  ball  Iiits  pin. 


BE  A  BOB  FELLER!  Step  right  up  and  knock  the  pussy  cats  off  the 
shelf!  Show  the  little  lady  your  stuff!  But  remember  that  one  of 
those  little  tabbies  has  a  nice  heavy  weight  concealed  in  its  innards. 
You  can  knock  it  down  all  day,  but  not  off  the  shelf  when  it's  placed 
away  from  the  edge. 


isn't  it?  But  you  can't  beat  it  even  then. 

Perhaps  you'd  like  to  win  a  basket 
of  groceries  at  the  corn  game.  Any  time 
the  proprietor  wishes  he  can  throw  the 
prize  to  one  of  his  numerous  confeder- 
ates simply  by  having  the  counterman 
mis-call  the  numbers  when  he  is  sup- 
posedly checking  the  winning  card. 

Feel  like  trying  to  knock  the  black 
cat  off  the  rack  for  a  chance  to  win  a 
five-dollar  bill?  That  cat  has  a  heavy 
weight  at  the  bottom.  Placed  at  the 
back  of  the  rack  the  lightest  touch  will 
send  it  tumbling  down.  That's  what 
happens  when  you  accept  the  cat- 
man's  offer  of  a  free  practice  throw. 
But  when  you've  put  up  your  quarter, 
the  cat  is  moved  to  the  front  of  the 
rack  and  the  hardest  pitch  wiU  fail  to 
win  the  prize.  You  can  knock  it  down 
a  thousand  times,  but  you'll  never 
knock  it  off. 


Of  course  the  merchandise  conces- 
sions let  the  player  win  occasionally, 
especially  the  first  few  nights  a  carni- 
val is  in  town.  That  guarantees  plenty 
of  word-of -mouth  advertising,  the  best 
business  getter  there  is.  All  of  the 
games  are  rigged  so  the  player  wins 
when  the  owner  wants  him  to  win, 
loses  when  the  owner  wants  him  to 
lose.  But  as  for  winning  a  cash  prize  — 
that's  unheard  of  generosity.  Any  con- 
cessionaire who  allowed  that  to  hap- 
pen would  likely  have  his  license  to 
steal  revoked  by  the  outdoor  thieves 
guild.  He'd  be  guilty  of  giving  a  sucker 
an  even  break. 

I  may  sound  harsh  in  my  judgment 
of  these  itinerant  gamesters  but,  be- 
lieve me,  I  know  whereof  I  speak.  I 
learned  the  rackets  the  hard  way.  I 
spent  two  seasons  with  these  traveling 
grifters  learning  the  tricks  of  the  trade 


in  a  game  that's  all  tricks  and  deception. 

It  all  started  when  the  directors  of 
a  large  Eastern  State  Fair  asked  me  to 
investigate  the  honesty,  or  lack  of  it, 
of  various  concessionaires  to  whom 
they  had  rented  space.  I  was  forced  to 
turn  the  job  down  because  I  knew  I 
didn't  know  enough.  I  had  built  up  a 
reputation  as  a  private  detective  spe- 
cializing in  gambling  swindles,  and 
wanted  to  maintain  that  name.  Card 
sharps,  dice  hustlers,  racetrack  con- 
nivers  — with  all  these  I  was  familiar. 
But  carnival  racketeers  weren't  my 
dish. 

This  particular  form  of  crooked 
gambling  is  little  understood  even  by 
professional  gamblers.  Only  the  con- 
cession owners  and  their  agents  are 
familiar  with  the  various  gimmicks, 
and  they  are  an  exceedingly  close - 
mouthed  clan.  (Continued  on  page  56) 


13 


SCENES  SUCH  AS  THIS  were  common  when  communist-infiltrated  and  anti-commie  unions  fought  at  studio  gates 


How  Communists  Make 
Stooges  Out  of  Mo\le  Stars 


By  RICHARD  E.  COMBS 


Chief  Counsel  of  the  California  State  Senate  Fact-Finding  Committee  on  Un-American  Activities 


With  more  time  and  money 
than  brains,  many  movie  stars 
are  pushovers  for  Kremlinites. 
Others  aren't  so  innocent . . . 


[hen  the  ten  witnesses  indicted  by  Congress  for 
their  refusal  to  answer  questions  concerning 
their  party  affiliation  were  dismissed  from  their 
studio  jobs,  only  the  surface  was  scratched.  The 
hidden  dangers  remain  a  constant  threat. 

Infiltration  of  communism  in  the  motion  picture  indus- 
try started  in  1928,  has  grown  steadily,  and  is  still  growing. 
Management  cannot  have  failed  to  know  that.  This  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  management  has  been  too  busy  with 
the  business  of  making  money  to  be  concerned.  The  dis- 
missal of  the  ten  indicted  men  wasn't  a  sincere  effort  to 
clean  house.  It  was  merely  an  effort  to  appease  public 
reaction.  That  immediate  public  reaction  having  been 
appeased,  no  further  action  is  being  taken.  With  one 
exception  — 

So  far  as  my  personal  investigation  is  concerned,  the 


14 


HERB  SORRELL  set  off  the  strike.  He 
has  a  remarkable  ability  to  follow 
the  line  of  Stalin's  favorite  Party 


THE  FILM  COLONY  is  very  tolerant  of  Paul  Robeson's  consistent  devotion  to 
Moscow.  Flanking  him  are  two  more  stalwarts,  Vito  Marcantonio  and  Leo  Isacson 


only  studio  that  has  made  a  conscien- 
tious effort  to  clean  house  without  fan- 
fare is  Paramount.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  what  happens  at  R-K-0  now  that 
it  has  changed  ownership. 

On  the  surface  it  may  appear  that 
democracy  has  won;  that  communism 
has  failed.  But  it  is  not  the  surface  that 
counts.  Just  as  vermin  breed  in  filth 
and  dark,  so  communism  breeds  be- 
hind closed  doors.  Thus  the  hidden 
dangers  are  the  ones  to  be  sought  out 
and  destroyed.  Let's  look  at  the  situ- 
ation. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  about 
communist  infiltration  of  the  motion 
picture  industry.  So  much,  in  fact,  that 


the  average  cinema  devotee  has  often 
wondered  why,  if  the  Stalinist  grip  is 
as  solid  as  he  has  been  told,  he  doesn't 
see  more  communist  propaganda  in 
pictures.  The  plain  truth  of  the  matter 
is  that  the  communists  do  not  and 
never  have  exercised  control  over  any 
motion  picture  studio.  Furthermore, 
the  left-wing  writers  who  have  man- 
aged to  entrench  themselves  through- 
out the  entire  industry  are  far  too 
smart  to  make  the  mistake  of  trying  to 
inject  any  obvious  subversive  propa- 
ganda in  the  pictures  they  write. 

To  be  sure,  they  do  inject  a  Marxian 
twist  here  and  there.  They  have  a  ten- 
dency to  portray  the  chairman  of  the 


board  of  directors  as  a  fat,  smug,  soul- 
less exploiter  who  lolls  in  his  Cadillac 
and  at  his  summer  place  on  the  lake 
while  he  squeezes  the  last  ounce  of 
energy  from  his  lean  and  hungry  em- 
ployees. There  is  a  tendency  to  em- 
phasize racial  and  rehgious  intoler- 
ance, discrimination,  poor  housing, 
crooked  politicians,  and  unemploy- 
ment and  at  the  same  time  to  play 
down  the  priceless  heritage  of  indi- 
vidual enterprise  and  cherished  free- 
doms that  our  way  of  life  affords. 

But  this  is  comparatively  insignifi- 
cant. It  is  subtle  propagandizing 
through  repetition,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  ( Continued  on  page  42 ) 


THESE  FIIM  VIPs  rushed  by  plane  to  the  defense  of  the  characters  being  questioned  by  the  Un-American  Activities  Committee. 
Some  of  them  are  always  in  there  pitching  for  the  Reds.  Others  later  admitted  that  in  this  case  they  had  been  duped 


WRONG 


WITH  US.  HISTORY 


Nothing's  wrong— except  that  too  many  know 
too  little  about  it.  Here,  a  former  teacher  suggests 
some  remedies. 


By  JOHN  DIXON 

ILhVSTRATED  BY  HAL  MacINTOSH 


_yj  FEW  YEARS  ago  a  widely 
W^M  known  newspaper  column- 
ist* headed  the  day's  column, 
THE  RE-EDUCATION  OF 
EDUCATION,  and  said,  (the  italics 
being  mine), 

"I  am  very  much  afraid  that  the 
revelations  of  the  New  York  Times 
of  the  abysmal  ignorance  of 
American  college  freshmen  re- 
garding American  history  will  re- 
sult in  nothing.  Parents  and  Con- 
gressmen will  insist  that  more 
American  history  courses  be  put 
into  grade  and  high  schools,  and 
everyone  will  settle  back  in  com- 
fort. 

Introducing  more  history  courses 
will  accomplish  little.  The  fault  is 
not  that  students  are  deprived  of 
history  courses;  it  is  that  they  are 
not  taught  history." 

The  proof  that  students  are  not  de- 
prived of  history  courses  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  in  almost  every  one  of 
the  States  there  are  laws  requiring 
that  United  States  history  must  be  in- 

*Dorothy  Thompson 


eluded  in  the  curriculum  of  every  ele- 
mentary and  high  school.  These  laws 
are  excellent  so  far  as  they  go,  but  they 
do  not  indicate  that  American  history 
shall  be  taught  as  a  separate,  individual 
subject;  they  do  not  indicate  how  much 
time  per  day,  how  many  days  per 
week,  or  how  many  weeks  of  the  year 
this  history  must  be  taught.  So,  one 
of  two  things  may  readily  happen:  so- 
called  social  science  may  be  substituted 
for  American  history,  or  because  of  the 
pressure  of  many  subjects  and  activi- 
ties upon  the  teaching  program  the 
time  given  to  American  history  may  be 
cut  short.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  spirit  of  the  law  is  not  fulfilled, 
and  students  "are  not  taught  history." 

Just  to  refresh  our  memories,  the 
survey  referred  to  above  covered  700 
American  colleges  and  universities,  in- 
cluding 600,000  undergraduates,  and 
revealed  that  82  percent  of  these  edu- 
cational institutions  did  not  require 
any  study  of  American  history,  that  72 
percent  did  not  even  list  it  as  a  pre- 
requisite for  entrance,  and  that  91  per- 
cent of  the  students  were  not  taking 
courses  in  this  subject.  Out  of  a  group 


of  7,000  students,  1,705,  or  25  percent, 
did  not  know  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  President  during  our  American 
Civil  War:  25,  indeed,  thought  that 
George  Washington  was  President  at 
that  time. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  in  a  great  con- 
vention a  picture  of  Stonewall  Jackson 
was  substituted  for  that  of  Andrew 
Jackson  without  anyone's  being  the 
wiser,  or  that  in  a  university  senior 
class  of  250  only  19  knew  when  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  was  signed! 

It  is  obvious  that  no  one  can  love 
anything  or  take  pride  in  it  without 
first  knowing  something  about  it;  and 
it  stands  to  reason  that  there  can  be 
no  adequate  appreciation  of  America 
and  what  it  represents  without  a 
knowledge  of  its  history,  its  traditions 
and  its  accomplishments. 

There  was  a  time  not  so  far  back 
when  the  studies  of  United  States  his- 
tory and  the  American  Constitution 
were  emphasized  in  the  schools,  but 
these  demands  seem  now  to  be  out- 
moded, and  a  conglomeration  made 
up  mainly  of  essays  about  history,  and 
so-called  social  science,  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  studies  of  American  his- 
tory and  American  government. 

There  was  a  time  not  so  long  ago 
when  the  great  documents*  of  Ameri- 
can history,  the  Mayflower  Compact, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
American  Constitution,  the  Bill  of 
Rights,  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation  were  studied,  ana- 
lyzed and  understood,  and  when  that 
challenge  to  dictatorship  and  the 
Divine  Right  of  Kings,  —  "We  hold 
these  truths  (Continued  on  page  40) 


*The  success  of  the  Freedom  Train,  which  car- 
ried some  of  these  documents  around  the  na- 
tion, shows  the  intense  interest  of  our  people 
in  their  history  -  EDITORS 


16 


How  ]>luch  Do  You  Know  About  These  HLsiorical  Events? 

Correct  answers  will  be  found  on  Page  40.  You  should  get  at  least  six 


fire  to  plant  Old  Glory  on  alien  soil  are  and  they  made  both  ends  meet.  Name  one  tumes  tell  you  the  approximate  date, 

dead.  What  year  was  it?  railroad.  Where  was  it? 


Quiz  Shows  from 


ARLENE  FRANCIS  AND  JOE  CROSS,  the  big  wheels  of 
"What's  My  Name."  Below,  warming  up  contestants 


One  of  radio's  pioneer 
question  -  and  -  answer 
men  takes  you  behind 
the  scenes  in  quizland 


By  JOE  A.  CROSS 


AST  YEAR,  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood  of  four  miUion 
dollars  was  just  given  away 
in  this  wide  land  of  ours.  It 
was  given  away  on  various  radio  quiz 
shows.  Of  course,  not  all  of  this  was 
in  the  form  of  good  old  Fort  Knox 
cabbage.  Instead  of  being  in  cash,  an 
awful  lot  of  it  was  in  the  form  of  Re- 
frigerators, Stoves,  Cars,  Trailers  and 
Trips  for  Two— all  expenses  paid— over 
Niagara  Falls  in  a  Barrel. 

It's  always  interesting  to  ask  how 
any  business  amounting  to  millions  of 


the  Inside 


dollars  got  started  in  the  first  place. 

What  was  the  first  Quiz  Show? 

Actually,  there  never  was  a  "first" 
quiz  show,  complete  with  studio  au- 
dience, eager  contestants  and  an  M.  C. 
spouting  prizes  like  Old  Faithful.  Quiz 
shows  went  through  a  process  of  evo- 
lution. As  far  back  as  1928  there  was 
a  quiz  show  of  a  sort  in  a  question- 
and-answer  program  called  "Jack 
Says:  Ask  Me  Another."  This,  spon- 
sored by  a  Hartford,  Conn.,  tire  dis- 
tributor, is  credited  by  some  as  the 
granddaddy  of  quiz  shows.  However, 
it  was  just  broadcast  locally. 

Four  years  later  a  new  wrinkle  in 
radio  was  heard  over  a  Houston  sta- 
tion. This  program  took  a  microphone 
out  of  the  studio  and  asked  questions 
of  the  man  in  the  street.  The  program, 
supplying  another  of  the  elements  of 
the  modern  quiz  show,  was  called  "Vox 
Pop."  In  1935  it  "went  network."  How- 
ever, it  was  not  till  the  late  thirties 


that  question-and-answer  shows  were 
going  great  guns  on  national  networks. 

A  significant  step  was  taken  in  1938 
when  "Information  Please"  went  on 
the  air.  This  show  provided  a  variation 
on  a  theme  which  many  listeners  had 
found  irritating  —  the  smug,  know-it- 
all  quiz-master  who  knew  all  the 
answers  (since  they  were  written  on 
cards  held  in  his  hand!)  This  program, 
which  made  John  Kieran  a  national 
figure,  put  the  experts  on  the  spot.  But 
more  important  it  gave  away  things, 
encyclopedias,  to  be  exact.  Not  long 
afterward  there  were  variations,  no- 
tably the  "Quiz  Kids,"  while  still  other 
innovations  were  popping  up.  To 
freshen  your  memory,  Uncle  Jim  was 
conducting  his  question  bee,  people 
who  couldn't  tell  the  truth  were  pay- 
ing horrible  consequences,  and  Phil 
Baker  was  bringing  to  the  language  a 
phrase,  "the  $64  question." 

Me,  I  was  (Continued  on  page  39) 


RALPH  EDWARDS  believes  in  making  his 
contestants  pay,  and  pay,  consequences 


QUIZ  KIDS  Mike  and  Mark  Mullen  learn  some- 
thing about  animal  life  by  going  right  to  sources 


TOP  TEN 

In  1940  "What's  My  Name"  asked  listenprs  to  sub- 
mit brief  biographies  of  famous  people,  for  possible 
use  on  the  broadcast.  Scores  of  thousands  of  listeners 
responded.  Following  are  the  personalities  most  often 
mentioned,  in  the  order  shown: 


1.  Ben  Franklin 

2.  Theodore  Roosevelt 

* 

3.  Victor  Herbert 

4.  Abraham  Lincoln 

5.  Mark  Twain 


6.  Henry  W.  Longfellow 

7.  Edgar  Allan  Poe 

8.  John  J.  Pershing 

9.  Thomas  A.  Edison 
10.  Charles  A.  Lindbergh 


For  those  who  wonder  why  such  famous  Americans 
as  George  Washington  and  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt 
did  not  make  this  list,  one  theory  is  that  the  people 
sending  in  biographies  may  have  felt  that  everyone 
else  was  writing  about  them. 


SPECIAL  DIETS  ease  ulcers,  an  opera- 
tion on  the  Vagus  nerve  may  cure 
them.  But  their  cause  is  "nervous- 
ness," their  real  cure,  calmness 


My  Two-Dollar  Ulcer  Cure 


By  JOHN  REESE 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  WHITNEY  DARROW,  JR. 


Doctors  say  this  patient's  advice  can  do  no 
harm  — and  millions  might  benefit  from  it, 
including  those  who  don't  have  ulcers,  yet 


INDLY  DO  NOT  PUSH,  ladies  and 
gentlemen.  Especially  the 
gentlemen,  who  are  four  or 
five  times  as  likely  to  have 
stomach  ulcers  as  the  ladies.  And  keep 
your  money  out  of  sight.  There  is  no 
medication  to  buy  —  no  pills,  salves, 
elixirs  or  ointments,  no  roots,  barks, 
herbs  or  berries.  There  is  no  occult  in- 
fluence to  woo,  no  fakir  to  fee.  The  two 
dollar  honorarium  has  already  been 
paid  and  you  all  ride  free. 

Kindly  step  back  and  give  the  pro- 

20 


fessor  room.  There  will  be  a  short 
prologue,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
do  not  have  ulcers  — yet.  (They  will 
have,  or  they  wouldn't  be  reading  this 
depressing  document.  They'd  be  out 
having  fun.)  Please  be  seated  for  the 
prologue,  after  which,  without  even  a 
tune  on  the  electric  organ,  we  will 
plunge  into  the  subject  of  how  to  cure 
your  ulcers.  Special  facilities  have 
been  provided  for  showing  your  fav- 
orite X-Ray  negative  of  your  mucous 
membrane. 


Ulcers  enjoy  a  morbid  popularity 
these  days,  since  they  are  assumed  to 
be  an  occupational  ailment  of  tense, 
dynamic  people  doing  big  things  in  a 
big  way.  But  ask  the  man  who  owns 
one!  He'll  tell  you  the  distinction  just 
isn't  worth  the  cost  in  pain,  money, 
lost  sleep  and  shortened  life  expecta- 
tion. You'll  find  him  a  rebellious 
member  of  the  great,  world-wide  lodge 
whose  secret  sign  is  the  hand  placed 
over  the  wine  glass  just  as  the  waiter 
starts  to  pour.  He  also  recognizes  other 
sad  brothers  by  the  mystic  glass  of 
warm  milk,  when  others*  are  gorging 
on  steak  or  lobster,  by  the  synchronized 
belch,  bend  and  grimace,  by  the  look, 
or  leer,  of  wistful  hatred  given  a  side 
dish  of  cole  slaw.  Ordinary  people  may 
have  bags  under  their  eyes;  a  man 
with  an  ulcer  recognizes  a  man  with 
another  ulcer  when  he  sees  bags  under 
the  bags.  "Duodenal  or  gastric?"  he 
asks.  That's  the  password. 

These  are  the  two  kinds  of  stomach 
ulcers.  It  isn't  a  very  big  selection,  is 
it?  The  way  it  generally  works  out  is 
this  —  the  man  with  a  duodenal  would 


rather  have  a  gastric,  and  the  man 
with  a  gastric  would  rather  have  a 
duodenal.  Women  are  more  prone  to 
the  gastric,  men  to  the  duodenal,  and 
don't  ask  me  why.  Which  yours  is 
depends  on  where  your  stomach  ulcer- 
ates; and  since  you  could  wring  the 
organ  out  like  a  mop  between  your 
two  hands  —  and  probably  would  love 
to  do  it  —  the  difference  works  down 
to  a  matter  of  centimeters. 

What  I'm  talking  about,  though,  is 
any  kind  of  an  ulcer,  and  what  I  say 
about  it  is  —  get  rid  of  it!  I  did.  It  is 
just  eight  years  ago  this  month  that  I 
woke  up  one  morning  and  remarked, 
rather  nonchalantly  I  thought,  "Well, 
I  guess  my  ulcers  are  cured."  Since 
then  I  have  never  turned  down  cole 
slaw  or  a  thick,  rare  steak  with  onions, 
until  I  got  tired  of  the  former  and 
the  latter  passed  eighty-eight  cents  a 
pound.  After  eight  gluttonous  years  I 
can  afford  to  be  jocular  about  it.  I  don't 
even  care  that  no  one  regards  me  as 
the  dynamic  type  any  more.  I'm  the 
poky  old  party  up  to  my  elbows  in 
French  fries  covered  with  ketchup  and 
Worcestershire  sauce,  with  shreds  of 
dill  pickle  on  my  tie. 

Put  aside  your  paregoric  and  join 
me.  But  first  call  your  physician,  the 
very  one  whose  watchful  care  now 
stands  between  you  and  one  of  the 


most  painful,  dangerous  and  unre- 
warding surgeries  in  the  trade.  I  don't 
care  if  it  is  the  middle  of  the  night  — 
call  him!  Ask  him,  "Say,  did  you  read 
that  fool  article  on  how  to  cure  ulcers 
in  The  American  Legion  Magazine?" 
He'll  say  of  course  he  didn't.  You  tell 
him  you're  dropping  your  copy  off  at 
his  office  on  your  way  to  work  in  the 
morning  and  will  see  him  at  the  usual 
Ulcer  Hour  that  afternoon. 

When  you  do,  he'll  say,  "Yes,  but." 
You  two  go  ahead  and  encourage  each 
other.  Talk  it  over  frankly.  Admit  you 
wouldn't  have  read  this  fool  piece  at 
all,  only  your  ulcers  woke  you  up 
about  two  in  the  morning  (as  usual!) 
and  there  wasn't  another  damn  thing 
in  the  house  to  read.  Be  patient  as  he 
thumbs  through  his  dog-eared  copies 
of  the  Journal  of  the  American  Med- 
ical Association,  pinching  his  chin  and 
saying,  "Hm." 

If  he  says  your  particular  ulcer  is 
too  acute,  you  can  stop  reading  at  the 
end  of  this  paragi-aph.  If  he  says  this 
piece  is  "medically  unsound,"  you  can 
bill  me  for  one  apothecary's  pound  of 
Sippy  powders,  F.O.B.  any  place  in 
the  United  States.  If  he  says  "...  go 
ahead  and  try  it,  what  have  you  got 
to  lose?"  he'll  be  but  echoing  the  ad- 
vice of  every  other  doctor  I  ever  dis- 
cussd  this  with.  No,  the  professor  is  not 


a  quack,  gentlemen.  It  has  taken  me  a 
long  time  to  come  to  the  point,  but 
here  we  go.  I'll  give  it  to  you  in  the 
exact  words  of  the  man  who  taught 
me.  He,  too,  could  write  M.D.  after  his 
name,  and  often  did. 

He  was  a  physician  — so  new  a  phy- 
sician that  he  could  still  understand 
the  Latin  on  his  diploma,  an  intelligent 
young  man  so  intense  that  he  surely 
must  have  ulcers  of  his  own  by  now. 
Ours  was  strictly  a  chance  meeting. 
I  had  been  dealing  with  one  of  the 
best  "ulcer  men"  in  Los  Angeles, 
gradually  losing  an  argument  ovei- 
whether  I  should  submit,  as  they 
phrase  it,  to  the  knife.  Submit!  What 
else  can  you  do,  with  that  ether  dingus 
over  your  face? 

I  had  two  bad  duodenal  ulcers  and 
a  third  incipient  one  just  about  to 
burst  the  barium  and  yell  whee. 
Luckily,  the  first  two  weren't  over  any 
of  my  arteries  but  this  third  little 
rascal  was  perched  right  on  top  of  one 
of  my  favorites.  Two  "spots"  on  a 
twenty-dollar  X-Ray  plate  is  par  for 
the  course.  Three,  and  you  can  start 
nominating  trustees  for  your  widow  to 
sue.  As  the  second  ulcer  said  to  the 
third,  "You  almost  missed  the  party, 
youngster.  Look  at  old  Number  One 
there.  He's  practically  suppurating" 
Replied  the  (Continued  on  page  50) 


21 


Kids  County 


By  WILL  OURSLER 


Youngsters  in  more 
than  a  third  of 
Nebraska's  counties 
try  out  the  learn-by- 
doing  technique 
of  government 


HE  CHARGE  against  the  defend- 
ant was  desertion  of  wife  and 
child. 

He  sat  in  the  prisoner's 
box  in  county  court.  A  few  feet  from 
him,  in  the  witness  chair,  the  young 
"wife"  spilled  out  the  story  of  how 
this  "prisoner"  had  abandoned  her  and 
their  little  boy. 

It  was  a  moment  of  high  tension,  in 
a  case  exemplifying  how  the  machin- 
ery of  American  justice  reaches  out 
in  protection,  whenever  the  sanctity 
of  the  home  —  or  the  rights  of  mother 
and  child  — are  in  jeopardy. 

What  made  this  trial  startling,  how- 
ever, was  the  fact  that  here  all  parti- 
cipants—including the  judge  and  jury 
—  were  youngsters  still  in  high  school. 

These  boys  and  girls  — who  had 
themselves  invented  the  "tragic  facts" 
which  finally  "convicted"  the  accused 
in  this  mock  trial  —  were  all  members 
of  the  junior  class  in  high  schools 
throughout  the  county.  For  this  day, 
they  had  taken  over  all  offices  in  the 
local  county  government. 

The  day  marked  the  climactic  point, 
following  weeks  of  study,  campaigning 
and  elections,  in  the  State  of  Nebraska's 
dramatic  new  technique  in  citizenship 
building  —  the  project  known  as  the 
Cornhusker  Boys'  and  Girls'  County. 

In  other  communities  across  the 
State,  thousands  of  high  school  teen- 
agers were  taking  part  in  similar 
programs  in  which  mock  trials  were 


"YOUR  PLATES,  SIR,"  says  Joe  Sherlock,  as  Peggy  Washburn 
types  record  card  for  Trucker  Oppy,  Manhattan,  Kansas 


only  one  phase  of  numerous  activities, 
designed  to  give  a  "laboratory  dem- 
onstration" of  how  local  government 
operates. 

Launched  only  two  years  ago,  under 
sponsorship  of  the  Nebraska  Depart- 
ments and  its  Auxiliary,  in  coopera- 
tion with  other  state  organizations,  the 
"junior  county"  plan  is  now  regarded 
as  an  important  development  in  the 
"on  the  spot"  technique  in  modern 
teaching. 

Already  the  project  has  reached 
nearly  twenty  thousand  boys  and  girls 
in  thirty-two  counties  which  served 
as  "testing  ground,"  and  in  the  next 
two  years  will  expand  to  cover  all  high 
schools  in  all  ninety-three  Nebraska 
counties. 

Scores  of  letters  seeking  information 
on  the  new  program  are  starting  to 
pour  into  Nebraska's  magnificent  State 
House  at  Lincoln.  The  unique  adven- 
ture in  education  for  citizenship  is 
starting  to  "catch  on." 

Nebraska's  Chief  Justice  Robert 
Simmons,  creator  of  the  idea  and  head 
of  the  non-profit  Boys'  and  Girls' 
County,  Inc.,  says  the  major  premise 


behind  his  plan  is  that  local  govern- 
ment "is  the  very  foundation  on  which 
the  American  dream  has  been  built." 

War  against  delinquency  —  and 
against  the  spreading  viius  of  com- 
munism —  are  two  main  "objectives" 
of  the  project.  Both  are  pushed  for- 
ward by  giving  the  youngsters  not 
merely  something  to  be  against  ~  but 
also  something  to  be  for. 

"What  we're  trying  to  bring  home 
to  them,"  Judge  Simmons  told  this 
writer,  "is  how  much  they've  got  to 
believe  in,  right  in  their  own  county 
government,  run  by  their  own  neigh- 
bors, people  they've  known  all  their 
lives." 

Actual  "office  holders"  under  the 
plan  are  all  eleventh  grade  high  school 
"juniors."  But  students  of  all  high 
school  classes  take  part  in  the  program, 
which  extends  over  several  weeks, 
beginning  with  registration  of  all 
students  for  one  of  the  two  parties  — 
"Federalists"  or  "Nationalists." 

"We  want  as  many  kids  as  possible 
in  the  thing,"  Legion  Assistant  Adju- 
tant Roy  Lang,  director  of  the  pro- 
gram, explains.  "When  the  kids  take 


22 


THE  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  do  themselves  proud  on  primary 
day  at  St.  Agnes  Academy  in  Alliance,  Box  Butte  County 


over,  every  school  sends  along  a  full 
quota  of  officials.  If  a  county  has  fifty 
schools— it'll  find  itself  on  that  day  with 
fifty  rambunctious  new  sheriffs." 

Although  the  mock  trials  are  among 
the  most  popular  events,  main  em- 
phasis of  the  program  centers  around 
actual  participation  in  the  operations 
of  the  various  county  offices. 

If  county  court  is  in  session  with  real 
cases,  part  of  the  day  is  given  over  to 
allowing  teen-ager  judges  and  court 
officials  to  observe  and  even  take  part 
in  actual  grown-up  cases. 

One  judge,  for  example,  permitted 
three  "junior  justices"  to  sit  beside  him 


on  the  bench  while  he  went  through 
a  routine  morning  session.  Not  to  be 
outdone,  the  county  attorney  allowed 
the  "small  fry"  county  attorneys  to 
read  out  official  complaints  to  the  court 
as  cases  came  up  for  hearing. 

In  another  instance,  a  county  sheriff 
found  himself  facing  a  serious  problem 
on  the  morning  the  youngsters  "moved 
in."  He  had  to  go  out  and  pick  up  a 
very  real  suspect  in  a  bad  check  case 
—  and  the  arrest  couldn't  be  put  off. 

At  last  he  decided  the  simple  course 
was  to  take  the  batch  of  junior  sheriffs 
with  him.  "You've  all  been  duly  elected 
in  your  schools— so  pin  on  these  badges 


and  come  along.  We've  got  somebody 
to  pick  up." 

No  trouble  was  anticipated,  but  as 
a  precautionary  measure  the  sheriff 
kept  the  boys  in  the  background  until 
the  arrest  was  completed.  On  the  way 
back,  however,  the  suspect  noticed  the 
boy  sheriffs  and  observed  gloomily, 
"Never  figured  I'd  be  taken  in  by  a 
Sunday  school  class." 

Older  officials  are  careful  to  shield 
the  youngsters  from  personal  contact 
with  unsavory  characters  brought  in. 
But  the  one-day  sheriffs  are  allowed 
to  follow  every  step  of  procedure  after 
an  arrest  —  including  fingerprinting, 
booking  and  questioning. 

"Don't  forget— some  'customers'  are 
even  younger  than  these  kids,"  one 
Sheriff  reminded  me.  "I'd  rather  have 
them  like  this  —  on  my  side,  learning 
my  job  and  how  and  why  I  do  it." 

Idea  for  the  "youth  movement"  came 
to  Judge  Simmons  back  in  1946  —  an 
outgrowth  of  his  conviction  that  too 
few  Americans  understood  the  tre- 
mendous role  local  and  county  officials 
play  in  the  machinery  of  democracy. 

He  knew  about  Boys'  and  Girls' 
State,  the  project  run  by  the  Legion 
in  Nebraska  and  elsewhere  to  give 
youngsters  a  first-hand  knowledge  of 
how  their  state  governments  operate. 
He  backed  that  plan  all  the  way.  But 
he  believed  still  more  had  to  be  done. 

"I  wanted  (Continued  on  page  62) 


THE  SPECIAL  QUALITIES  of  a  shelter  belt  sprig  are  explained  b  y  expert  Arthur  Moseman  to  Dakota  County  group 


CANTIGNY  MAY  31,  1918-FOR  THREE  DAYS  POWER- 
FU   GERMAN  COUNTER-ATTACKS  LAUNCHED  AGAINST 
ELEMENTS  OF  THE  1ST  U.  S.  DIVISION,  WHICH 
REFUSED  TO  YIELD  ANY  OF  HARD-WON  GROUND. 
DIVISION  CASUALTIES  TOTAL  45  OFFICERS  AND  1,022 
MEN  OF  WHOM  199  WERE  KILLED  IN  ACTION... 


^'^H  THE  38TH  INF  jniY  k  ,n,o 

STOPPED  GERMANS  COLD  rnnAv  n  '^^^"^^^^  OF  3D  U  9  n,w 

^tCOND  PLATOON  SURVIVE... 


PEARL  HARBOR,  DEC.  7,  1941 -AT  7:55  THIS 
MORNING  MORE  THAN  300  CARRIER-BASED 
JAPANESE  PLANES,  ALL  TYPES,  STRUCK  THIS 
BASE  WITHOUT  WARNING,  AND  LEFT  IT  A 
SHAMBLES.  4,576  CASUALTIES  REPORTED,  OF 
WHOM  OVER  3,000  DEAD... 


Futile  ^foTdV  BAH  ^^^^^^^^    retreat  after 

CARRIERS,  TWO  CRUISFRS    H  ''''  ''''  ^'^^RA 

HOUSANDS  OF  MEN.  WE  LOST  CARR  FR  mmRim 


These  dispatches  are  not  arithentic,  of  course,  but  had  censorship  not  existed  they  could  have  been 


GUADALCANAL,  AUG  in  Tr„r, 

HAVE  MARKED  ALMOSt' EVEfiy^M  S'^/''""™'  '^'R  «»  SEA  BArriF. 
.ARMED  ACROSS  THE  Bm   oZl'  " T  d7Sn 

CRUISERS  ASTORIA,  VINCENNf<;  nn  l,l  .         '-"^^  ^^Kf  HEAVy  ii  9 

ESTERDAy,  BUT  SOuS  0^,^' "'^'^^  CANBERRA  SUNK 

THIS  IS  FIRST  MOVE  BACK  TO  phWines.  ^ 


OVER  PLOESTI,  RUMANIA,  AUG,  1.  A  9TH 

Tdevastating,  low-lev   «    sJ^,"';;  r 

,H,s  OIL  «EF1NERV  gen™  S^^^^^^^^^  ^g,,,,. 
SE:"AGrU°S"G^VpEED  PEANES 

ARE  STAGGERING  HOWIE... 


QPi  RFIOIUM  DEC  18,  1944 -ONE  SMALL 
4*MENT  OF  GERMAN  ATTACKERS  WAS  HALTED 
ON  NARROW  SECTION  OF  ROAD  FROM  MALMED^ 
O^aTS^IDENTIFIED  EMEER  PRIVATE 

QPT  OFF  CLUSTER  OF  LAND  MINES  WHICH 
p[^ED  Sp  Sn  of  TANKS.  THE  PRIVATE 
DIED  IN  THE  BLAST... 


vritten.  for  their  varied  tales  of  American  sacrifice  are  based  on  ichat  actually  happened  in  each  case 


A  Ghost  Town  Comesi 


Thanks  to  Charles 
Bovey^'s  unusual  hob- 
by, Americans  can 
now  visit  a  town  just 
like  the  kind  Jesse 
James  shot  up 


By  PARKER  W.  KIMBALL 


PHOTOS  BY  RAY  J.  MANLY 


|wo-GUN,  gold-dusty  old  Vir- 
ginia City,  Montana,  wedged 
between  the  sagebrush  hills 
of  the  Tobacco  Root  moun- 
tains, technically  never  was  a  ghost 
town. 

Greenhorns,  putting  their  brand  new 
cowboy  boots  in  their  mouths,  will  be 
set  straight  by  its  old  timers.  "Ghost 
town  —  !  Hell,  I  lived  here  since  '69. 
And  I  ain't  no  ghost  by  a  damnsight." 

No,  the  mulish  old  town  never  cashed 
in  all  its  chips.  But  until  Charlie 
Bovey  came  along  to  spruce  it  up  and 
give  it  back  its  pride,  "Virginia,"  home 
to  the  Montana  Vigilantes,  the  notori- 
ous Plummer  road  agent  band,  and 
10,000  rough-and-tumble  miners,  was 
beginning  to  give  up  the  ghost. 

For  eighty  years  it  had  not  hanged 
a  single  road  agent.  Not  a  street  light 
had  been  shot  out  along  its  board- 
walked  streets,  nor  had  another  "Cap" 
Slade  spurred  his  horse  into  a  saloon 
to  be  watered  with  whiskey.  Henry 
Plummer,  by  day  Sheriff  of  Montana 
Territory  and  by  night  leader  of  a  cut- 


to  Life 


THE  MAIN  STEM  of  Virginia  City,  Montana,  looks  like  a  movie  set,  but  it's  the  real  thing 


throat  robber  crew,  was  long  since 
stretched  and  buried  by  equally  ghost- 
ly Vigilantes,  and  the  gold  from  the 
flanks  of  Alder  Gulch  had  dwindled  to 
a  comparative  dribble.  Its  population, 
in  recent  years  barely  300,  existed  pri- 
marily for  the  few  die  hard  sourdoughs 
who  have  always  remained. 

All  that  was  left  of  the  Virginia  City 
of  1864  was  a  lurid  life  story  dealing 
with  hangings  and  accounts  of  men 
who  sought  gold.  In  addition  there  was 
a  row  of  framework  buildings  at  the 
west  end  of  town.  The  latter  were  fast 
disappearing  via  the  woodpile  route. 

Luckily,  before  the  destruction  of 
this  vestigial  remnant  of  early  West- 
ern history  could  become  total,  it  was 
halted.  For  ending  the  casual  blitz, 
hundreds  of  people  have  looked  up 
Charlie  Bovey,  beneficent  godfather  of 
Virginia  City,  to  thank  him. 

Many  are  travelers  who  came  out 
from  Jersey,  Atlanta,  or  Sandusky  ex- 
pecting to  find  an  Old  West  the  dupli- 
cate of  their  Charley  Russel  print  over 


HERE'S  CHARLIE  BOVEY  using  the  gold  scales  in 
the  Wells-Fargo  office.  The  gal's  a  mannequin 


27 


THE  WAY  THINGS  used  to  be  in  the 
old  days,  with  belle  and  red-eye 

the  mantel  at  home.  What  they  too- 
commonly  found  was  a  West  authentic 
as  a  movie  cowboy's  dress  shirt. 

"I  drove  over  two  thousand  miles," 
said  an  Illinois  businessman  unhappily, 
"partly  to  see  a  real  Western  town.  I 
thought  I'd  seen  them  — bucking  bron- 
cos in  neon  lights,  hyper-motels,  and 
clip  joints.  Fortunately,  I  heard  about 
Virginia  City  and  came  anyway.  Now 
I've  seen  what  I  came  to  see." 

For  three  years,  a  wealthy  Montana 
rancher  Charles  A.  Bovey  has  labored 
to  preserve  for  those  who  like  their 
history  in  the  raw,  a  genuine  historic 
fragment  of  the  West— as  it  was  when. 
Out  of  his  desire  has  emerged  Virginia 
City  —  1864  —  sweaty,  weatherstained 
and  honest  (Continued  on  page  47) 


BET  YOU  NEVER  saw  a  Western  movie  with  costumes  and  props  like  these 


IF  YOU  VISIT  Virginia  City  you'll  probably  stay  at  the  Fairweather  Inn.  This  is  the  parlor 


The  NationwLegionnaire 


/n  conformance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  the 
National  Executive  Committee  at  its  November, 
19i8,  meeting.  The  National  Legionnaire  is  con- 
solidated with  The  American  Legion  Magazine. 
The  National  Legionnaire  acf'tio??  will  be  a  regular 
feature  of  the  Magazine  each  month,  and  will  con- 
tain the  same  class  of  material  relating  to  Legion 
programs  and  activities  as  used  in  that  publication 
in  past  years. 


Legion's  Pension  Bill  Loses  In  House  By  One  Vote 
After  Bitter  3-Day  Debate — Returned  To  Committee 


New  WWl  Age-Service  Pension 
Bill  Introduced  in  Congress 
by  Chairman  John  E.  Rankin 


By  John  Thomas  Taylor 
National  Legislative  Director 

Following  one  of  the  most  bitter  de- 
bates in  the  history  of  Congress  and 
the  use  of  unprecedented  parliamentary 
tactics,  the  House  of  Representatives  by 
a  recounted  vote  of  208  to  207  voted  to 
recommit  the  Legion's  Pension  Bill 
(H.R.  2681)  to  the  House  Committee 
on  Veterans'  Affairs.  This  was  a  very 
definite  and  positive  move  of  the  oppo- 
nents to  veterans'  pensions  to  kill  the 
measure.  Such  a  movement  was  at- 
tempted on  the  day  the  bill  originally 
came  up  for  consideration,  but  was  de- 
feated by  a  vote  of  223  nays  to  187  yeas, 
with  23  not  voting. 

Every  opponent  of  the  pension  bill 
voted  to  recommit.  There  can  be  no  mis- 
take about  the  intention  of  those  who 
sponsored  the  recommittal  motions  — 
they  were  convinced  that,  on  a  record 
vote  to  kill  the  bill  on  the  floor  of  the 
House,  they  could  not  defeat  the  meas- 
ure. Therefore  they  pursued  the  indi- 
rect course,  hoping  to  sabotage  the  bill 
without  having  to  go  on  record  as  op- 
posing it. 

Loaded  Down  With  Amendments 

On  the  first  day  of  consideration  of 
the  bill,  when  opponents  failed  in  their 
attempt  to  recommit,  their  principal 
leader  moved  to  strike  out  the  enacting 
clause  of  H.R.  2681.  This  would  have 
definitely  killed  the  bill  on  the  floor  of 
the  House.  That  motion  was  defeated 
by  a  vote  of  291  nays  to  120  yeas,  with 
22  not  voting.  Those  voting  yea  know- 
ingly voted  to  kill  the  bill. 

Following  the  defeat  of  this  move- 
ment, a  large  number  of  amendments 
were  off'ered,  but  no  record  votes  were 
taken  on  any  amendments.  Most  of 
them  were  offered  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  confusing  the  issue  and,  if  possible, 
to  load  the  bill  down  in  such  way  that 
it  could  not  receive  approval. 

Also,  opponents  of  t4ie  bill,  knowing 
that  the  measure  could  not  be  defeated 
on  its  merits,  resorted  to  vicious  and 
malicious  attacks  against  the  bill  and 
its  supporters,  particularly  singling  out 
Chairman  John  E.  Rankin  of  the  Vet- 


erans' Affairs  Committee.  One  member 
lost  his  head  and  viciously  attacked  the 
Legion.  He  was  promptly  squelched  by 
other  members,  including  some  who  op- 
posed the  pension  bill,  and  following 
his  remarks  a  number  of  members  made 
it  a  point  to  compliment  the  Legion  on 
its  many  accomplishments  during  the 
past  30  years. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  debate,  op- 
ponents continued  their  obstructive  tac- 
tics. The  first  move  to  defeat  was  a 
motion  to  strike  out  all  after  the  enact- 
ing clause.  This  motion  was  defeated  by 
a  teller  vote  of  159  to  168,  but  was  im- 
mediately followed  by  a  motion  to  send 
the  bill  back  to  Committee.  Chairman 
John  E.  Rankin  (Mississippi)  who  had 
done  a  heroic  job  in  fighting  off  the  op- 
position and  in  diverting  the  attempts 
to  sabotage  the  bill  by  parliamentary 
maneuvering,  called  for  a  record  vote. 
When  the  vote  was  announced  by  Repre- 
sentative John  W.  McCormack  (Mas- 
sachusetts), presiding  in  the  absence  of 
the  Speaker,  it  was  208  yeas  to  209  nays 
against  adopting  the  motion,  but  be- 
cause of  the  close  vote  he  called  for  a  re- 
count. Subsequently  he  announced  that 


13TH  AERIAL  MEMBERSHIP 
ROUNDUP  SET  FOR  MAY  1 

A  full  quarter  of  a  million  mem- 
bership cards  are  expected  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  National  Headquarters 
at  Indianapolis  on  Sunday.  May  1, 
in  the  Legion's  13th  annual  Aerial 
Membership  Roundup.  Planes  are 
expected  to  drop  down  on  Weir 
Cook  Airport  from  nearly  every 
Department,  bringing  in  cards 
counted  as  a  triumphant  finish  to 
an  intensive  membership  campaign. 

Roscoe  Turner,  former  speed  king 
and  one  of  the  all-time  greats  of 
aviation,  now  a  member  of  the 
National  Aeronautics  Committee, 
has  arranged  with  the  Weir  Cook  ■ 
Airport  to  care  for  a  minimum  of 
600  planes.  Weather  permitting,  it 
is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
aerial  events  ever  staged  by  the 
Legion. 

The  Roundup  will  be  climaxed  by 
a  banquet  for  the  visitors,  given  by 
National  Commander  Perry  Brown, 
at  the  Indianapolis  Athletic  Club. 
It  is  anticipated  that  General  Hoyt 
S.  Vandenberg.  Chief  of  Staff.  U.  S. 
Air  Force,  will  be  the  guest  speaker. 


the  vote  as  recounted  stood  208  yeas  to 
207  nays  —  therefore  the  motion  pre- 
vailed and  the  bill  went  back  to  the 
Committee. 

From  the  time  the  Miami  National 
Convention  adopted  the  resolution 
favoring  World  War  pensions,  the  pro- 
posal has  been  subjected  to  an  unprece- 
dented smear  campaign.  Opponents 
have  resorted  to  every  unfair  tactic  to 
defeat  the  legislation.  They  have  grossly 
misrepresented  the  provisions  of  the 
bill,  greatly  exaggerated  its  estimated 
cost  and  crucified  supporters  of  the 
measure,  including  The  American  Le- 
gion and  the  Auxiliary— the  only  vet- 
erans' organizations  which  whole- 
heartedly supported  the  legislation  from 
the  time  the  bill  was  introduced  on 
January  20. 

The  unfair  tactics  of  opponents  have 
only  resulted  in  delaying  enactment  of 
a  World  War  pension  law.  We  have 
been  successful  in  the  past  in  defeating 
attempts  of  those  who  opposed  just  and 
proper  benefits  for  veterans  —  we  will 
succeed  on  THIS  important  legislation. 
How  soon  we  win  the  fight  depends  alto- 
gether on  the  cooperation  of  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Legion  and  Auxiliary  and 
our  many  friends.  We  must  keep  up  the 
fight  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

New  Bill  Introduced 

On  the  day  following  the  vote  of  the 
House  to  recommit.  Chairman  Rankin 
introduced  H.R.  3821  to  provide  pen- 
sions for  veterans  of  WWl,  at  $72  per 
month  upon  reaching  the  age  of  65 
years  for  those  whose  income  does  not 
exceed  $2,000  per  year,  if  single,  or 
$3,000  if  with  dependents.  The  bill 
embodies  amendments  adopted  by  the 
House  which  included  a  reduction  of  the 
amount  contained  in  the  original  bill, 
and  eliminated  WW2  veterans.  Consid- 
eration of  this  bill  will  give  an  oppor- 
tunity to  those  members  who  advocated 
and  supported  these  amendments  to 
demonstrate  whether  they  were  sincere 
in  trying  to  improve  the  legislation,  or 
whether  they  were  following  the  old 
practice  of  loading  the  bill  down  to 
bring  about  its  defeat.  The  House  Vet- 
erans' Affairs  Committee  has  com- 
menced hearings  on  the  new  bill. 

Veterans'  Hospitals 

The  American  Legion  spearheaded 
the  attack  in  Congress  in  the  proposed 
cut-back  in  the  veterans'  hospital  con- 


Tha  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  •  29 


struction  program.  A  special  Subcom- 
mittee of  the  Senate  Labor  and  Public 
Welfare  Committee  was  appointed  to 
investigate  this  matter,  with  the  follow- 
ing members:  Senators  Claude  Pepper 
(Florida)  Chairman;  Hubert  Humph- 
rey (Minnesota)  and  Wayne  Morse 
(Oregon).  A  comprehensive  schedule  of 
hearings  was  arranged  and  presented 
to  the  National  Rehabilitation  Confer- 
ence held  in  Washington.  In  addition, 
contacts  were  made  with  every  State 
which  resulted  in  the  appearance  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Legion  from  each 
State  during  the  extensive  hearings.  A 
large  number  of  Legionnaire  Senators 
and  Representatives  also  appeared  be- 
fore the  subcommittee  opposing  the 
cut-back. 

Housing 

The  President  has  signed  the  rent 
control  bill  passed  by  Congress  (H.R. 
1731).  The  principal  provisions  of  the 
law  are : 

(a)  Extends  rent  control  until  June  30, 
1950. 

(b)  Individual  States  could  remove  rent 
controls  throughout  the  State,  or  in  parts,  if 
the  legislature  passed  a  law  calling  for  that. 
In  event  of  veto  of  such  a  measure,  the  legis- 
lature could  override  the  veto. 

(c)  Requires  the  Housing  Expediter  to  fix 
rents  at  a  level  to  assure  landlords  a  "fair 
net  operating  income. ..so  far  as  practicable." 

(d)  Empowers  Housing  Expediter  to  write 
eviction  regulations  designed  to  apply  uni- 
formly throughout  the  country. 

(e)  The  Expediter  could  sue  for  triple  dam- 
ages in  case  of  rent  over-charges. 

(f)  The  Expediter  is  authorized  to  recon- 
trol  any  areas  he  decontrols  on  his  own  in- 
itiative after  March  31.  He  could  recontrol 
areas  freed  of  rent  curbs  before  that  date 
only  if  the  local  rent  advisory  board  recom- 
mended it. 

(g)  Trailer  camps  would  be  recontrolled. 

(h)  Luxury  housing  units  may  be  decon- 
trolled by  the  Expediter  if  he  believes  the 
action  will  provide  more  housing  units,  pre- 
sumably by  reconversion. 

(i)  Non-transient  hotel  apartments  in  cities 
of  2,500,000  population,  or  more,  would  be 
recontrolled,  and  the  rents  for  such  places 
frozen  at  the  level  of  March  1,  1949. 

The  Senate  Banking  and  Currency 
Committee  reported  a  compromise  non- 
partisan bill  (S.  1070)  to  establish  a 
national  housing  objective  and  the  pol- 
icy to  be  followed  in  its  attainment;  to 
provide  Federal  aid  to  assist  slum-clear- 
ance projects  and  low-rent  public  hous- 
ing projects  initiated  by  local  agencies; 
to  provide  for  financial  assistance  for 
farm  housing,  and  for  other  purposes. 
This  is  in  lieu  of  the  Administration's 
housing  bill  (S.  138)  and  calls  for:  Con- 
struction of  810,000  public  housing  units 
within  6  years;  a  one  and  a  half  billion 
dollar  slum-clearance  program  to  help 
cities  and  States  clean  up  blighted 
areas;  a  $262,500,000  4-year  rural  hous- 
ing program,  and  a  broad  Government 
program  of  research  in  the  housing  field 
to  lower  the  cost  of  building.  This  is 
designed  to  care  for  low  income  families 
earning  up  to  $2,000  a  year. 

All  other  items  in  the  Legion's  hous- 
ing program  are  under  consideration  by 
House  and  Senate  Committees,  and  sev- 
eral hearings  have  already  been  held. 

Universal  Military  Training 

The  American  Legion  fired  the  first 
gun  in  the  Senate  for  the  proposed 
Universal  Military  Training  legislation. 
On  March  3  the  Senate  Armed  Services 
Committee  held  a  hearing  in  executive 


session  on  S.  66,  which  is  the  Legion's 
bill.  The  National  Legislative  Director, 
Chairman  Erie  Cocke,  Jr.,  of  the 
Legion's  National  Security  Commission, 
and  Chairman  Granville  Ridley,  of  our 
Universal  Military  Training  Committee, 
testified  in  the  executive  meeting,  pre- 
senting strong  arguments  in  support  of 
the  Legion  plan  for  UMT,  and  urged 
the  Committee  to  promptly  hold  further 
hearings  on  our  bill. 

Chairman  Carl  Vinson  (Georgia)  of 
the  House  Armed  Services  Committee, 
stated  that  his  Committee  will  not  hold 
hearings  on  UMT,  maintaining  that  as 
long  as  the  Selective  Service  Law  is  in 
effect  there  is  no  necessity  for  universal 
training.  Testifying  before  the  Rules 
Committee,  Chairman  Vinson  again 
said  that  UMT  will  not  be  considered 
during  this  session  of  Congress.  He 
again  advocated  that  the  $800,000,000 
provided  in  the  President's  budget  for 
UMT  be  transferred  to  the  70-group 
Air  Force. 

Americanism 

Several  major  bills  were  introduced 
in  Congress,  the  enactment  of  which 
would  further  carry  out  the  American- 

\  CALENDAR  OF  IMPORTANT  \ 
\      LEGION  EVENTS  IN  MAY  \ 

\\  1        National  Aerial  Membership  |' 

||  Roundup,  Indianapolis.  ]> 

I'  1-2    Meeting  of  National  Commis-  <! 

1 1  sions,   those  called,  Indian-  <| 

'i  apolis.  \\ 

\\  4-6    National  Executive  Commit-  ]| 

\\  tee  Meeting,  Indianapolis.  '> 

|i  6        Laying  of  Cornerstone  of  <! 

il  New  National  Headquarters  <| 

i|  Building,    Indianapolis  \\ 

\\  8        Mother's  Day. 

\\  13-14    National  Aeronautics  Con-  |i 

1 1  ference,  Eglin  Field,  Florida;  'i 

|1  Meeting   of   National    Aero-  I| 

\\  nautics  Committee  and  one  J| 

\\  delegate  from  each  Depart-  ]| 

\\  ment.  \ 

>  15        I  Am  An  American  Day.  |l 

*  16-18    Regional   Economic   Confer-  <; 

X  ence.  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  \\ 

2  23-25    Regional   Economic   Confer-  J| 

z  ence,  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  Ji 

J  30        Memorial  Day.         '  <I 


ism  policy  of  the  Legion  in  exposing 
and  curtailing  communistic  activities  in 
this  country.  At  the  Miami  National 
Convention  Resolution  No.  113  was 
adopted,  giving  full  endorsement  and 
approval  to  a  bill  similar  to  the  Mundt- 
Nixon  Bill  which,  in  the  last  Congress, 
passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  5  to  1. 

To  carry  out  this  mandate,  companion 
bills  were  introduced,  S.  1194  by  Sen- 
ator Karl  E.  Mundt  (South  Dakota),  a 
former  member  of  the  House  Un-Amer- 
ican Activities  Committee,  and  H.  R. 
3342  by  Representative  Richard  M. 
Nixon  (California),  at  present  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Committee. 

The  new  Mundt-Nixon  legislative 
proposal  substantially  tightens  the  pro- 
visions curtailing  communist  activities 
and  provides  a  tougher  series  of  penal- 
ties, but  its  sponsors  say  that  it  does 


not  outlaw  the  communist  party.  It  sets 
up  specific  regulations  forcing  its  oper- 
ations out  into  the  open  and  denying 
its  members  certain  privileges,  includ- 
ing the  right  to  hold  appointive  Federal 
offices  or  to  secure  American  passports 
to  travel  abroad.  They  further  state 
that  "nothing  has  been  changed  from 
our  original  legislation  which  could  in 
any  way  weaken  the  legislation  or  cir- 
cumscribe its  coverage  of  disloyal  acti- 
vities." 

During  hearings  by  a  subcommittee 
of  the  House  Committee  on  Post  Office 
and  Civil  Service,  the  Legion  pi-esented 
testimony  in  support  of  H.R.  1002,  re- 
quiring communist-front  organizations 
to  identify  matter  sent,  or  caused  to  be 
sent,  by  or  for  them  through  the  mails. 

Military  Justice 

The  National  Legislative  Director,  to- 
gether with  Franklin  Riter,  Commander 
of  the  Department  of  Utah,  and  John  J. 
Finn,  Legion  Judge  Advocate  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  testified  before 
the  House  Armed  Services  Committee 
on  H.R.  2498  to  provide  a  uniform  code 
of  military  justice  for  the  Army,  Navy 
and  Air  Force. 

During  the  80th  Congress,  Legion 
representatives  presented  testimony  in 
accordance  with  our  mandates  before 
this  Committee.  Many  of  the  recommen- 
dations were  included  in  a  bill  reported 
to  and  passed  by  the  House.  When  the 
Selective  Service  Bill  was  up  for  con- 
sideration in  the  Senate,  the  Army 
Court-Martial  Reform  Bill  (H.R.  2575) 
was  added  as  an  amendment  to  that 
measure.  With  the  able  presentations 
made  to  the  House  Committee  it  is  ex- 
pected that  further  items  in  the  Legion's 
program  for  military  justice  will  be 
enacted  into  law. 

Postage  Rates 

Director  James  F.  Barton  of  the 
Legion's  National  Publications  Com- 
mission, and  the  National  Legislative 
Director  appeared  before  the  House  and 
Senate  Committees  on  Post  Office  and 
Civil  Service  in  opposition  to  proposed 
legislation  which  provided  for  increased 
postage  rates.  It  was  urged  that  Amer- 
ican Legion  publications  be  kept  on  the 
preferred  class  of  publications  of  non- 
profit, organizations  and  maintained 
that,  if  proposed  bills  were  enacted  into 
law,  the  cost  of  mailing  out  The  Amer- 
ican Legion  Magazine  would  be  in- 
ci'^ased  by  several  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  not  only  to  endanger  the  con- 
tinued existence  of  the  publication,  but 
it  would  take  away  from  the  rehabili- 
tation, child  welfare  and  other  Legion 
programs  a  very  substantial  monetary 
support. 

Prisoners  of  War 

In  reporting  the  First  Deficiency 
Appropriations  Bill  (H.R.  1632)  the 
Senate  Appropriations  Committee  in- 
cluded an  item  of  $100,000  to  establish 
the  War  Claims  Commission,  as  pro- 
vided in  the  Legion-supported  Public 
Law  896,  80th  Congress. 


2Q  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


LeVs  Not  Kid  Ourselves  About  The  Legion 

Membership  Strength  is  Needed  to  Hold  Veteran  Gains,  to 
Combat  Subversives,  and  to  Build  for  the  Future 

By  Irvin  R.  (Bob)  Snyder 
General  Chairman,  Membership  and  Post  Activities  Committee 


Set  forth  here  are  some  very  frank 
questions  directed  at  every  member  of 
The  American  Legion,  and  through 
these  members  to  every  honorably  dis- 
charged veteran  of  World  War  I  or 
World  War  II. 

Do  you  want  the  veterans  of  World 
War  I  and  World  War  II  to  lose  a 
portion  of  the  benefits  they  now  receive? 

Do  you  want  The  American  Legion 
to  lose  its  enviable  position  of  being 
the  number  one  veteran  organization  in 
America? 

Do  you  want  the  Communists  in  our 
midst  to  go  unhampered  in  the  spread- 
ing of  their  poisonous  doctrines? 

Of  course  you  don't  want  these  things 
to  happen  —  and  you  may  be  one  of 
those  who  says  "That  can't  happen 
here."  But  let's  not  kid  ourselves  any 
longer!  Here  are  the  facts: 

1.  Steps  are  already  under  way  to  cut 
down  all  veteran  benefits.  Examples  are 
the  cutbacks  in  hospital  construction 
and  the  consolidation  of  Veterans  Ad- 
ministration Hospitals  with  the  Public 
Health  Service  and  the  Army  and  Navy 
Hospitals,  and  the  continued  vicious 
sniping  at  all  veterans'  benefits  through 
the  press  and  over  the  radio. 

2.  The  American  Legion  must  con- 


LEGION  WILL  DECORATE 

OVERSEAS  GRAVES  MAY  30 


tinue  to  be  the  number  one  veteran 
organization  in  the  nation  and  it  must 
have  a  membership  of  more  than  3,000,- 
000  to  be  that.  With  every  Legionnaire 
becoming  active  in  a  last  minute  inten- 
sive eff'ort,  the  organization  will  go  far 
in  excess  of  3,000,000  for  1949. 

3.  The  Legion  has  led  in  the  battle 
against  Communism  throughout  the 
nation  since  the  very  inception  of  the 
organization.  The  menace  of  this 
Moscow  inspired  doctrine  is  growing 
in  America.  Witness  the  statements  of 
Foster  and  Dennis,  two  top  Communists 
of  this  country,  who  indicated  in  a  New 
York  court  recently  that  their  first 
allegiance  in  the  event  of  war  was  to 
the  U.S.S.R.  Added  strength  of  man 
power  in  The  American  Legion  will 
help  in  combating  such  traitorous 
movements. 

Let  me  repeat — let's  not  kid  ourselves 
any  longer!  There's  only  one  effective 
way  through  which  The  American 
Legion  can  do  these  important  jobs, 
and  that  is  by  signing  up  thousands  of 
new  members  and  bringing  back  into 
the  organization  all  delinquent  mem- 
bers. What's  more  important  is  that  the 
job  be  done  immediately.  An  organized 
one-day  drive  in  all  Posts  will  do  the  job. 


PHILA.  GETTING  SET  FOR 

LEGION'S  NATIONAL  MEET 


and  Eight,  Dr.  A.  H.  Wittman;  Com- 
mander's Dinner,  National  Executive 
Committeeman  Harry  K.  Stinger;  Ser- 
vice, Captain  Gustave  Blind;  Halls  and 
Seating,  Thomas  Brown;  Contests,  Max 
Slepin;  Citizens  Committee,  Albert  M. 
Greenfield;  Post  Participation,  Leo  D. 
McKeone;  First  Aid  and  Sanitation, 
Dr.  Rufus  Reeves;  Public  Relations,  C. 
Pierce  Taylor,  and  Concessions,  Abe 
B.  Kehr. 

The  Bellevue- Stratford  has  been  se- 
lected as  the  National  Headquarters 
hotel,  and  the  Ben  Franklin  Hotel  will 
be  headquarters  for  the  Auxiliary. 
Early  registration  will  be  stressed  in 
order  to  avoid  delay  and  confusion 
when  reaching  the  convention  city.  The 
registration  books  will  be  distributed 
soon  by  Chairman  Linsky.  The  fee  has 
been  fixed  at  $3 ;  musical  organizations 
and  uniformed  bodies  will  pay  the 
nominal  fee  of  $1. 


WELFARE  OF  CHILDREN  OF 

VETS  STUDIED  IN  MEETS 

Five  area  child  welfare  conferences 
held  by  The  American  Legion  from 
December  to  March  gave  detailed  study 
to  the  welfare  of  children  of  veterans. 
The  conferences  found  that  there  is  a 
growing  number  of  children,  particu- 
larly of  disabled  and  sick  veterans,  who 
need  help  if  they  are  going  to  have  the 
"Square  Deal"  which  is  the  Legion's 
gpal. 

David  V.  Addy,  National  Child  Wel- 
fare Chairman,  summed  up  the  conclu- 
sions of  the  conferences:  "Although 
employment  is  generally  high  and  eco- 
nomic conditions  good,  we  are  very 
much  concerned  at  the  apparently  in- 
creasing numbers  of  children  of  vet- 
erans who  are  in  real  need. 

"In  so  far  as  the  cases  which  come 
to  our  attention  are  concerned,  the 
primary  cause  is  the  disability  or  sick- 
ness of  the  veteran-parent.  All  over  the 
nation  we  find  serious  child  welfare 
workers  of  The  American  Legion  who 
are  organizing  their  efforts  to  see  that 
more  adequate  and  prompt  help  is 
brought  to  dependent  children  of  our 
comrades." 

Area  Conferences  were  held  at: 
Area  "E",  Hollywood,  California,  De- 
cember 9-11,  1948;  Area  "D",  Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin,  January  7-8,  1949;  Area 
"B"  Baltimore,  Maryland,  February 
11-12;  Area  "A",  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, March  4-5;  Area  "C",  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  March  11-12. 

Thirty-nine  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  five  conferences  have  been  referred 
to  the  Executive  Section  of  the  National 
Child  Welfare  Commission  for  action 
at  its  meeting  in  Indianapolis,  April  21- 
23.  A  resolution,  coming  from  Area 
"C",  which  calls  upon  the  Departments 
and  Posts  to  establish  emergency  aid 
funds  to  extend  direct  temporary  aid  on 
an  emergency  basis  to  dependent  chil- 
dren of  veterans,  is  certain  to  receive 
serious  study  by  the  Child  Welfare 
Commission,  according  to  Chairman 
Addy. 


Arrangements  have  been  made  for 
the  purchase  and  shipping  of  fifty 
thousand  small  American  flags  to  place 
on  the  graves  of  American  soldier, 
sailor.  Marine  and  Coast  Guard  dead  in 
Europe  and  North  Africa,  National  Ad- 
jutant Henry  H.  Dudley  announces.  The 
flags  will  be  shipped  in  ample  time  to 
assure  placement  on  the  graves  on  or 
just  before  Memorial  Day.  . 

In  addition,  the  sum  of  $4,000  has 
been  forwarded  to  care  for  the  expenses 
involved  in  hunting  out  and  placing  the 
flags  and  wreaths  on  the  graves.  The 
details  of  distribution  in  Europe  and 
Africa  will  be  handled  by  the  Overseas  ' 
Memorial  Day  Association,  of  which 
John  R.  Wood  is  Chairman. 

The  Department  of  the  Philippines, 
under  Department  Commander  Frank 
S.  Tenny,  will  care  for  the  graves  in 
that  area,  for  which  funds  have  been 
provided.  Allocation  of  funds  and  ar- 
rangements have  been  made  to  decorate 
the  graves  in  other  areas  in  the  Pacific. 

Funds  for  this  purpose  are  provided 
from  the  interest  on  the  Overseas 
Graves  Decoration  Trust  Fund,  which 
was  set  up  at  National  Headquarters 
several  years  ago  and  now  amounts  to 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 


The  City  of  Philadelphia,  where  the 
31st  National  Convention  of  The  Amer- 
ican Legion  will  be  held  on  August  29th 
through  September  1st,  is  preparing  for 
a  record  attendance.  Centrally  located 
and  within  easy  reach  of  a  great  Legion 
population,  preparations  are  being 
made  to  care  for  delegates  and  visitors 
equal  to  or  surpassing  the  attendance 
at  the  New  York  Convention  in  1937 
—  which  set  the  nation's  all-time  top 
for  convention  attendance. 

The  National  Convention  Corpora- 
tion has  established  its  offices  in  Room 
169,  Old  Broad  Street  Station,  1401 
Market  Street,  under  the  supervision 
of  National  Convention  Director  Edw. 
McGrail.  Vincent  A.  Carroll  is  Presi- 
dent of  the  Corporation  and  a  number 
of  committees  have  been  named  to  care 
for  the  mass  of  details  in  preparing 
for  and  staging  the  Convention.  The 
Committee  chairmen,  so  far  as  an- 
nounced are: 

Housing,  County  Commander  Samuel 
J.  C.  Greene;  Distinguished  Guests, 
Hon.  Harold  E.  Stassen,  President  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  Trans- 
portation, E.  Walter  Hudson;  Badges, 
Meyer  Abrams;  Registration,  Edward 
A.  Linsky,  Department  Adjutant;  Forty 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  •  31 


Unification  of  the  Services 

Is  Aim  of  Secretary  Johnson 


Past  Legion  Chief  Takes  Top 
Defense  Post— Selects  Two 
Legionnaire  Aides 


When,  on  March  28th,  Louis  Johnson 
of  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  was 
sworn  in  as  Secretary  of  Defense  he 
became  the  first  Past  National  Com- 
mander of  The  American  Legion  to 
achieve  Cabinet  rank.  He  was  named 
by  President  Truman,  (Legionnaire)  to 
succeed  Secretary  James  V.  Forrestal, 
(Legionnaire)  who  had  resigned,  and 
was  sworn  in  by  Chief  Justice  Fred 
Vinson,  also  a  Legionnaire. 

Secretary  Johnson's  first  official  act 
after  assuming  his  duties  as  head  of 
the  entire  national  defense  structure 
was  to  move  decisively  in  his  initial 
efforts  to  gain  greater  unification  of 
the  armed  services.  He  ordered  an 
almost  complete  reassignment  of  office 
space  in  the  Pentagon,  the  shift  to  be 
completed  within  a  matter  of  weeks, 
in  order  to  bring  the  three  arms  of  the 
defensive  forces  together  in  one  unit. 
He  also  named  General  Joseph  T. 
McNarney  to  take  on  the  job  of  "phys- 
ical changes  of  unification"  that  will 
weed  out  a  considerable  number  of  the 
boards  and  agencies  that  have  grown 
up  during  the  years.  These  are  esti- 
mated variously  at  450  to  800.  At  any 
rate  Secretary  Johnson  thinks  there  are 
too  many  for  efficiency's  sake.  Some 
will  be  abolished,  others  consolidated 
and  their  functions  coordinated. 

Forrestal  Pays  Tribute 

Just  before  leaving  the  office.  Sec- 
retary Forrestal  in  a  public  speech  paid 
a  high  tribute  to  his  successor.  He  said, 
in  part: 

"I  could  hardly  leave  my  job  in  better 
hands.  By  experience,  training  and  tem- 
perament, Colonel  Johnson  is  admirably 
qualified  to  head  our  National  Military 
Establishment. 

"As  Assistant  Secretary  of  War  from 
1937  to  1940  he  worked  closely  with  the 
Army,  the  Navy  and  the  Air  Forces, 
showing  himself  to  be  a  tireless  worker, 
a  sound  business  man,  an  efficient  ad- 
ministrator, and  above  all  a  man  of 
character.  This  same  spirit,  I  know,  will 
mark  his  administration  as  Secretary  of 
Defense." 

As  Assistant  Secretary  of  War  dur- 
ing the  years  just  preceding  WW2,  Sec- 
retary Johnson  was  one  of  the  strongest 
exponents  of  increased  strength  for  the 
armed  forces.  His  work  in  the  organi- 
zation and  harnessing  of  industry  to 
meet  the  demands  of  a  major  war  paid 
off  in  big  dividends  in  the  years  just 
after  he  left  the  War  Office.  This  ac- 
complishment is  credited  with  shorten- 
ing the  war  by  many  months. 

As  the  Nazi  menace  grew  in  Europe, 
Colonel  Johnson  began  more  and  more 


to  urge  the  enlargement  of  the  Air 
Forces  as  a  defense  safeguard.  In  early 
1939  he  sparked  the  drive  for  10,000 
planes,  a  program  later  enlarged  to 
50,000  planes.  He  stumped  the  country, 
speaking  in  every  State,  for  greater 
military  and  industrial  preparedness. 

Secretary  of  War  Robert  P.  Patter- 
son told  the  Legion's  National  Conven- 
tion at  San  Francisco  in  1946  that  it 
was  Past  National  Commander  John- 
son's work  as  Assistant  Secretary  of 
War  in  charge  of  industrial  mobiliza- 
tion that  helped  cut  hostilities  short. 

Secretary  Johnson  has  had  a  long  and 
distinguished  record  of  public  service 
in  his  adopted  State  of  West  Virginia, 
(born  in  Virginia),  and  in  national 
affairs.  Establishing  himself  in  the 
practice  of  law  at  Clarksburg  after  his 
graduation  from  the  University  of 
Virginia  in  1912,  he  had  won  a  post 


Secretary  of  Defense  Louis  Johnson 

as  minority  floor  leader  in  the  West 
Virginia  House  of  Delegates  before  the 
First  World  War. 

Entering  the  First  Officers  Training 
Camp  at  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison, 
Indianapolis,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
in  1917,  he  was  graduated  as  a  Captain 
of  Infantry.  Assigned  to  the  80th  Divi- 
sion, he  had  hard  service  with  his  outfit 
in  France,  and  in  Germany  with  the 
Army  of  Occupation.  In  addition  to 
medals  and  decorations  earned  from 
his  own  Government,  he  holds  the  dec- 
oration of  Commander  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor  from  France. 

During  WW2,  in  which  he  had  many 
assignments  of  honor  and  responsibil- 
ity, he  was  sent  as  the  personal  repre- 
sentative of  President  Roosevelt,  with 
the  rank  of  Minister,  to  serve  in  India 
and  the  Near  East. 

A  charter  member  of  Roy  E.  Parrish 
Post  No.  13,  of  Clarksburg,  he  became 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Legion  in 


Paul  Griffith 


Col.  Renfrew 


West  Virginia  and  served  that  Depart- 
ment as  its  first  National  Executive 
Committeeman.  He  was  Commander  of 
the  Mountain  State  Department  in 
1930-31,  and  in  1932,  at  the  National 
Convention  at  Portland,  Oregon,  was 
elected  National  Commander  after  a 
spirited  contest.  Since  the  expiration  of 
his  term  he  has  held  many  high  com- 
mittee appointments.  One  of  his  most 
constructive  services  was  as  Chairman 
of  the  Legion's  Postwar  America  Com- 
mission. This  group  of  eminent  Legion- 
naires drafted  the  Legion's  program  for 
postwar  Economic  readjustment. 

He  also  served  as  American  Vice 
President  of  FIDAC,  the  inter-allied 
organization  of  8,000,000  World  War  1 
veterans  in  11  countries,  of  which  The 
American  Legion  was  an  integral  part 
prior  to  WW2. 

Griffith  and  Renfrew  Picked 

Secretary  Johnson,  upon  assuming 
his  new  duties,  took  two  other  distin- 
guished Legionnaires  in  service  with 
him.  Past  National  Commander  Paul 
H.  Griffith  of  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania, 
became  the  Executive  Assistant,  and 
Colonel  Louis  H.  Renfrow  of  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  left  the  White  House  job  as 
Assistant  Military  Aide  to  the  Presi- 
dent, to  become  Military  Assistant. 

Colonel  Griffith,  who  had  long  and 
arduous  service  in  both  World  Wars, 
has  been  long  associated  with  Secretary 
Johnson  —  Griffith  was  Department 
Commander  of  Pennsylvania  when 
Johnson  was  National  Commander. 
They  were  thrown  together  frequently 
while  on  official  duties,  as  the  beginning 
of  an  association  that  has  continued  in 
many  ways.  When  Colonel  Johnson  was 
sent  to  India  by  President  Roosevelt, 
Colonel  Griffith  was  his  military  aide. 
He  is  a  six-star  member  of  Lafayette 
Post  No.  51  of  Uniontown.  He  served 
as  National  Commander  for  the  term 
1946-47,  presiding  over  the  National 
Convention  in  New  York  in  the  last 
named  year. 

Colonel  Renfrow,  second  of  the  two 
major  assistants,  also  has  a  long  and 
distinguished  record  of  service  to  the 
Legion.  A  veteran  of  WWl,  he  became 
active  in  the  Legion  in  St.  Louis  and 
served  his  Post  and  Department  in 
many  capacities.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  afhd  a  committee  chairman 
of  the  National  Convention  at  St.  Louis 
in  1935.  His  Legion  service  has  not 
abated  since  he  was  called  back  to  ac- 
tive duty  in  WW2,  and  he  is  at  present 
serving  as  a  member  of  the  National 
Emblem  Committee  for  the  term  ex- 
piring in  1950. 


22  *         American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


*   •    .  LEGIONITEMS  •   •  • 


So 


^ditftiii  ofiQ'Q  0  q'(r(ra"a"q"oira"g"o"0'ii"0"o"(ro"o  oTrg"o~o"o"a~o'o"o"<i"o"OT>~<r(nr<ro"o"g"8"o"o'<^ 


"Seventy  et  Two"  is  a  newly  formed 
club  (WW2  Last  Woman's  Club)  in 
Seattle,  Washington,  organized  by 
Helen  N.  Marshall,  Historian  of  Seattle 
Post  No.  2.  Membership  will  be  com- 
posed of  honorably  discharged  women 
of  WW2  who  are  members  of  The 
American  Legion,  and  no  more  than  72 
will  be  admitted.  Purely  social  in  its 
aims,  a  fund  will  be  built  for  presenta- 
tion to  the  last  living  member.  .  .  . 
Lamar  (Colorado)  Post  No.  71  cele- 
brated the  Legion's  30th  birthday  by 
dedicating  its  new  $75,000  home  and 
club  house.  .  .  .  Emil  Pinkall  Post, 
Lindsborg,  Kansas,  celebrated  its  free- 
dom from  debt  by  burning  the  last 
evidence  —  a  mortgage  for  $10,000  on 
its  home,  which  was  purchased  in  1946. 
The  mortgage  burning  was  preceded 
by  a  smorgasbord  dinner  prepared  by 
the  members. 


Henry  H.  Houston,  2nd,  Post  No.  3, 
Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  recently 
paid  honor  to  six-star  Legionnaire 
Joseph  D.  Walsh,  who  has  completed 
27  consecutive  years  as  Post  Adjutant.  In 
fact,  Comrade  Walsh  has  served  his  Post 
as  an  officer  since  January,  1921,  when 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Committee.  His  WWl  service  was  with 
the  107th  Infantry,  27th  Division.  .  .  . 
Livermore  (Iowa)  Post  has  a  new  club 
building  under  construction.  .  .  .  The  3rd 
Annual  Art  Exhibit,  showing  works  of 
vets  and  members  of  the  armed  services, 
will  be  held  in  June  at  the  Santa  Monica, 
Cal.,  Library  Art  Gallery  under  the  aus- 
pices of  Douglas  Aircraft  Post  No.  523 
and  the  Santa  Monica  Art  Association. 

★  ★     ★  ★ 

Dorsey-Liberty  Post  No.  14, 
Lawrence,  Kansas,  has  established  a 
memorial  cemetery  for  all  honorably 
discharged  veterans.  The  plot  was  set 
aside  for  that  purpose  by  the  city;  the 
Post  has  expended  $2,000  in  landscap- 
ing and  plans  to  erect  a  monument. 
The  first  cemetery  established  by  the 
Post  after  WWl  has  been  completely 
filled.  .  .  .  Tell  W.  Nicolet,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  Post  No.  5,  Pittsburgh,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  the  first  Legionnaire  to 
reach  number  1,000,000.  He  was  given 
wide  publicity  and  was  presented  to 
President  Hoover  at  the  White  House 
as  the  one-millionth  Legionnaire.  Now 
a  resident  of  Maryland,  Legionnaire 
Nicolet  has  presented  his  records  and 
trophies,  including  a  picture  taken  with 
President  Hoover,  to  John  K.  Fogarty 
Post  No.  162,  Lexington  Park. 

★  ★     ★  ★ 

Davis-Kerber  Post  No.  653,  Colfax, 
Illinois,  has  erected  and  dedicated  a 
memorial  monument  to  the  13  Colfax 
men  who  died  in  the  two  World  Wars. 
Entire  cost  was  borne  by  the  Post  and 
its  Auxiliary  Unit. . . .  Paul  Herrick  Post 


No.  429,  Kenosha,  Wisconsin,  has  organ- 
ized a  "Walking  Memorial  Whole  Blood 
Bank"  to  serve  its  community  as  a  me- 
morial to  the  Kenosha  men  who  died  in 
WW2.  No  charge  is  made  for  blood  fur- 
nished, which  is  given  freely  in  event  of 
emergency  or  indigency.  The  bank  has 
attracted  a  lot  of  publicity  through  the 
newspapers,  radio,  and  in  official  city 
designation  of  April  as  "Walking  Me- 
morial" month.  .  .  .  The  veteran  firing 
squad  of  Englewood  (New  Jersey)  Post 
No.  78  has  been  designated  by  County 
Commander  John  J.  Powell  to  instruct 
firing  squad  units  of  the  county  in  the 
duties  of  such  units,  particularly  in 
military  ceremonies. 


CENTURY-OLD  COMMANDER 
PLANS  TO  WIND  UP  G.A.R. 

Theodore  A.  Penland,  100-year-old 
resident  of  La  JoUa,  California,  will 
be  the  last  Commander  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  is  plan- 
ning to  lead  the  troops  in  the  final 
parade  at  the  82nd  National  En- 
campment at  Indianapolis,  August  28 
—September  1.  These  dates  run  con- 
currently with  the  Legion's  31st  Na- 
tional Convention  at  Philadelphia. 

The  Hoosier  city  was  chosen  as 
the  place  for  the  1949  meet,  because 
it  was  there  in  1867  —  82  years  ago 
—  that  the  first  Encampment  was 
held.  Six  members  attended  the  1948 
meeting  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan, 
when  Penland  was  elected  and  the 
decision  made  to  hold  one  more 
Encampment,  then  furl  the  banners 
of  the  G.A.R.  forever.  Only  20  mem- 
bers of  the  once  mighty  organization 
are  living. 

Commander  Penland  is  a  native 
of  Goshen,  Indiana.  He  enlisted  in 
the  Union  Army  for  active  service 
when  only  16. 


Lowville  (New  York)  Memorial  Post 
No.  162  is  the  home  unit  of  two  State 
commanders  of  major  veterans  organi- 
zations—  Corydon  D.  Kingsbury,  De- 
partment Commander  of  The  American 
Legion,  and  Louis  H.  Yandeau,  State 
Commander  of  the  Disabled  American 
Veterans.  .  .  .  Saranac  Lake  (New 
York)  Post  No.  447  starred  in  the 
International  Bob  Sled  Championship 
races  on  the  famous  Mt.  Hoevenberg 
run  in  late  February.  Four-man  team 
headed  by  Jim  Bickford,  all  members 
of  the  Post,  finished  second.  TufFy 
Latour,  another  member,  finished  sec- 
ond in  the  two-man  race.  Saranac  Lake 
Post  sponsors  an  annual  National  Sled 
Derby;  open  to  all  youngsters  between 
five  and  fifteen.  .  .  .  Joseph  L.  Davis 
Post  No.  47,  Havre  de  Grace,  Maryland, 
paid  tribute  to  Senator  Millard  E. 
Tydings,  Legionnaire  and  one  of  the 
Post's  founders,  at  a  testimonial  dinner, 
with  more  than  400  in  attendance.  At 


the  conclusion  of  the  dinner  Post  Com- 
mander G.  Hewlett  Cobourn  presented 
Senator  Tydings  with  a  gold  life  mem- 
bership card  in  Joseph  L.  Davis  Post. 

♦  ♦    *  * 

A  grocery  clerk  who  left  his  home 
town,  Perry,  Georgia,  43  years  ago  to 
enlist  as  a  private  in  the  Army,  returned 
as  a  Lieutenant  General  in  late  February 
to  receive  a  gold  life  membership  card 
in  his  home  town  Legion  Post.  That  was 
Lieutenant  General  Courtney  H.  Hodges, 
commander  of  the  First  Army  in  WW2, 
now  retired.  Presentation  was  made  by 
Commander  Gardner  Watson  for  Robert 

D.  Collins  Post  No.  24  Cook  County, 

Illinois,  (embracing  the  city  of  Chicago) 
under  County  Commander  Walter  E. 
Wiles  has  401  active  Posts  and  a  1949 
membership  quota  of  96,000.  The  State 
has  1,140  Posts  and  a  quota  of  235,860.... 
June  Van  Meter  Unit  No.  190,  Clinton, 
Iowa,  has  the  proud  record  of  standing 
at  the  head  as  the  Auxiliary's  largest 
single  unit.  In  a  city  of  slightly  more 
than  26,000,  the  Auxiliares  have  rolled 
up  a  1949  membership  of  1,200. 

*  ¥    *  -y^ 

Arnold  Zweir  Post  No.  22,  James- 
town, Rhode  Island,  sponsors  two  drum 
and  bugle  corps  —  a  boys  corps  and  a 
girls  corps.  Adjutant  Harry  Stetson 
reports  that  some  members  think  this 
record  is  unique.  Any  contest?  .  .  . 
Seventy  men  of  the  Navy's  Patrol 
Squadron  23  signed  up  with  Opa-Locka 
(Florida)  Post  No.  144  on  February  11. 
These  men  have  an  unusual  assignment 
—  they  are  the  "hurricane '  hunters" 
whose  job  is  to  fly  into  hurricanes,  ob- 
serve the  path  and  pick  up  other  infor- 
mation for  the  protection  of  the  public. 
This  Squadron  handles  one  of  the  most 
dangerous,  though  interesting,  of  the 
peacetime  Navy's  job  in  safeguarding 
public  interest.  .  .  .  Three  Hills  Post 
No.  565,  Lager  and  Hateras  Streets, 
N.S.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  wants  to  buy  a 
supply  of  tenor  bugles.  Adjutant  Wil- 
liam J.  Hunkele,  Sr.,  at  the  Post  ad- 
dress, is  the  chap  to  write  to. 

■¥■     ¥  ■¥■ 

For  the  purpose  of  instruction  in  the 
correct  observation  of  flag  etiquette,  and 
to  inspire  a  patriotic  Americanism,  the 
Legion  Post  of  Wellesley,  Massachu- 
setts, has  had  the  Flag  Code  made  a 
part  of  the  curriculum  of  the  Wellesley 
High  Schools,  reports  Legionnaire  John 
J.  Garrison. . . .  Clyde  Powell,  22-year-old 
hero  of  Fort  Dodge,  Kansas,  who  dived 
in  icy  water  and  rescued  three  boys 
from  drowning  in  late  January,  has  been 
awarded  the  American  Legion  Hero 
Medal  on  recommendation  of  Lloyd  L. 
Carr  Post  No.  107,  Fort  Dodge.  ...  At 
Des  Plaines,  Illinois,  (a  Chicago  suburb), 
14-year-old  Roberta  Lee  Mason  rescued 
her  three  small  brothers  and  a  sister 
from  their  flaming  home,  suffering 
almost  fatal  burns.  Des  Plaines  Post 
No.  36  awarded  her  a  Hero  Medal  with 
citation,  and  wrist  watch.  Chicago  and 
local  people  built  a  home  valued  at 
$17,000  to  replace  the  one  destroyed. 
Legion  presentation  was  made  at  the 
hospital  by  Commander  C.  O.  Richards 
of  Des  Plaines  Post,  and  9th  Dfstnct 
Adjutant  Fred  R.  Wetterman. 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


The  Legion's  New  $2,500,000  National  Headquarters  Building.  The  Building  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  early  in  1950. 


Elaborate  ceremonies,  including  a  big 
parade,  will  mark  the  laying  of  the 
cornerst(?lie  of  The  American  Legion's 
new  National  Headquarters  building  at 
Indianapolis  on  Friday  afternoon,  May 
6.  The  event  is  scheduled  to  take  place 
just  after  the  adjournment  of  the  spring 
mating  of  the  National  Executive 
Committee  and  will  thus  have  official 
representatives  from  every  Department 
of  the  Legion  in  attendance. 

Construction  of  the  building  has  been 
in  progress  since  July  21,  1948,  when 
ground  was  broken  by  high  officials  of 
both  the  State  of  Indiana  and  the 
Legion.  The  first  shovelsfull  of  earth 
were  turned  by  then  National  Com- 
mander James  F.  O'Neil,  Past  National 
Commander  Mile  Warner,  Chairman  of 
a  Special  Committee  on  Enlarging  the 
National  Headquarters ;  G.overnor  Ralph 
Gates,  a  Past  Department  Commander 
of  Indiana,  and  Indiana's  current  De- 
partment Commander,  Harold  E.  Morris 
of  Gary. 

Indiana  Makes  Appropriation 

An  appropriation  of  $2,500,000  was 
made  in  1945  by  the  Legislature  of 
Indiana  to  provide  new  buildings  'to 
supplement  the  present  National  Head- 
quarters building,  which  the  Legion  had 
long  before  outgrown.  Building  costs 
pyramided  and  instead  of  the  three 
buildings  originally  planned,  a  single 
structure  is  being  erected  which  is 
planned  to  house  all  of  the  National 
Organization  offices  and  activities  lo- 
cated in  Indianapolis.  The  old  building, 
occupied  since  1925,  will  continue  to  be 
used  by  the  National  Headquarters  of 
the  American  Legion  Auxiliary,  the 
Forty  and  Eight,  the  Department  of 


Indiana  and  other  r.elated  and  inte- 
grated groups. 

The  new  home  of  The  American 
Legion  will  be  360  feet  long,  and  60 
feet  wide,  four  floors,  basement  and 
sub-basement,  and  is  two  and  a  half 
times  the  size  of  the  present  building. 
It  will  extend  for  more  than  the  length 
of  a  city  block  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue 
on  the  Indiana  World  War  Memorial 
Plaza,  opposite  the  old  building,  which 
faces  Meridian  Street.  The  structure 
will  be  ready  for  occupancy  early  in 
1950. 

Johnson  Will  Speak 

The  cornerstone  ceremonies  will  start 
with  a  parade  beginHing  at  1  P.M.  on 
May  6,  which  is  expected  to  last  about 
two  hours.  Indiana's  Adjutant  General, 
Robinson  Hitchcock,  will  be  the  Grand 
Marshal.  Legion  uniformed  groups  and 
musical  outfits  from  nearly  every  sec- 
tion of  the  Hoosier  State  are  expected, 
led  off  by  the  Department  Champions 
in  the  various  divisions,  which  will  in- 
clude the  Richmond  Legion  Band.  The 
Kokomo  American  Legion  Color  Guard 
will  head  the  parade  of  colors,  and  will 
serve  at  the  massing  of  the  colors  from 
the  several  Departments  at  the  corner- 
stone ceremonies. 

Governor  Henry  F.  Shricker  of 
Indiana,  and  National  Commander 
Perry  Brown  will  deliver  addresses, 
speaking  for  the  State  and  for  the 
National  Organization  of  The  American 
Legion.  The  principal  address  of  the 
day  will  be  delivered  by  Secretary  of 
Defense  Louis  Johnson,  a  Past  National- 
Commander,  who,  on  that  occasion,  will 
deliver  his  second  major  address  after 
taking  office  as  chief  of  the  national 


defense  structure.  The  cornerstone  will 
be  laid  by  Clarence  R.  lyicN&bb,  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Indiana  War  Memorial  Commission, 
who  will  use  the  same  trowel  and  mallet 
used  in  1927  by  General  John.  J. 
Pershing  in  laying  the  cornerstone  of 
the  Indiana  World  War  Memorial 
Shrine,  the  main  building  on  the  Memo- 
rial Plaza. 


RAYMOND  FIELDS  RESIGNS 

PUBLIC  RELATIONS  PLACE 

Raymond  J.  Fields,  Guthrie,  Okla- 
homa, who  has  served  as  National  Pub- 
blic  Relations  Director  for  the  Legion 
since  the  end  of  WW2,  tendered  his 
resignation  effective  on  March  15.  In 
his  letter  to  National  Commander  Periy 
Brown,  Director  Fields  said  that  he  had 
been  long  absent  from  his  own  business 
and  that  he  desired  to  give  full  time  to 
his  newspaper  and  radio  interests  in 
Oklahoma  and  Indiana. 

A  Rainbow  veteran  of  WWl,  Direc- 
tor Field  has  been  active  in  the  Legion 
for  thirty  years,  serving  his  own  Post 
at  Guthrie,  as  wefl  as  the  Oklahoma  De- 
partment as  Department  Commander 
and  six  years  as  National  Executive 
Committeeman.  He  took  the  public  re- 
lation directorship  immediately  upon 
his  release  from  service  in  WW2. 

Harry  Guinivan,  Beverly,  Massachu- 
sets,  administrative  aide  to  Fields,  was 
named  as  Acting  Director.  He  has  been 
on  the  division  staff  since  March,  1946. 
Graduate  of  Boston  University,  class 
of  '39,  Guinivan  is  a  WW2  veteran  of 
five  years'  active  service  in  the  Pacific. 


24  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


COMRADES 
IN  DISTRESS 


"p  a  a  0  0  0  8  a  ji  trm  o  a  oTirff  oooooooo 

Flight  A,  417th  Bomb  Sg.-Will  Julian  Dendy, 
CO  while  stationed  in  Cuba  in  1942-48,  please 
write.  Believed  resident  of  Texas.  Statement 
needed.  Sterling  L.  Lentz,  811  Quentin  Road, 
Lebanon,  Pa. 

Roland  E.  Ormsby,  known  as  "The  Baron," 
last  known  address  Fresno.  Cal.,  write  Elmer 
Eckam,  1407  E.  Main  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Sig- 
nature needed  to  settle  estate. 

Co.  B,  38th  Infantry— Anyone  who  remembers 
me  as  being  wounded,  particularly  Ailus  Hill  and 
Kimmons,  please  write.  Statement  needed.  Nelson 
(Pancho)  Seals,  135  No.  Sadie  St.,  South  Bend, 
Ind. 

Co.  M,  119th  Infantry  (WWl) -Present  address 
o4  Herman  T.  Brewington  is  wanted  ;  statement 
needed  in  case  of  Colon  McPhail,  now  disabled 
as  result  enemy  action.  Write  L.  B.  McLean, 
County  Service  Officer,  Lillington,  N.  C. 

347th  MG  Co.,  87th  Div.— Anyone  who  remem- 
bers John  Bell,  Jr.,  148  Planderville  Ave..  Gar- 
field, N.  J.,  being  taken  ill  while  drilling  at  Camp 
Dix,  please  contact  him.  Statements  needed. 

Co.  B,  148th  Infantry— Members  who  saw  action 
in  Belgium  in  1918  please  write  Jack  J.  Collins, 
P.  O.  Box  146,  San  Fernando,  Cal.  Need  support 
for  claim. 

Co.  20,  164th  Depot  Brigade,  Camp  Funston- 

Or  anyone  who  served  overseas  (WWl)  with 
John  M.  Delfosse,  please  write  Commander  Charles 
F.  Brown,  127  Teddy  Ave..  LeMay  23,  Mo. 

Btry  A,  60th  CAC— Need  statement  of  George 
Foley,  who  served  at  Port  Mills,  Corregidor, 
"Middleside,"  also  Harold  Lohmann.  Please  write. 
Vincent  P.  Geraghty,  627  Jackson  Ave.,  Susque- 
hanna, Pa. 

Co.  A,  178th  Bn.,  97th  Regt.,  IRTC,  Camp  Hood, 
Texas— Robert  G.  Bivens,  Box  13.  Saint  Paul, 
Ark.,  would  like  to  hear  from  any  of  the  officers 
or  platoon  sergeants,  especially  a  sergeant  nick- 
named "Shoats";  needs  statement  aoout  truck 
accident.  May,  1944,  to  support  claim. 

331st  School  Squadron,  L,uke  Field,  Ariz.  — 
William  A.  West,  314  6th  St.,  Bremerton,  Wash., 
needs  affidavits  to  prove  claim  for  disability;  any- 
one of  above  outfit  who  can  help,  please  wi'ite. 

U.S.S.  Vulcan,  AR  5,  Division  7— Anyone  who 
served  aboard  at  Kure,  Japan,  between  October, 
1945,  and  March,  1946,  please  contact  Kenneth 
Ervin,  Sr.,  Fl/c,  1307  Camp  Ave.,  Wanamassa, 
N.  J.  Statement  needed  to  establish  claim  for  back 
injury. 

U.S.S.  Oahu-ARG  5-Donald  R.  Blackburn,  46 
N.  Miami  Ave.,  Miamisburg,  Ohio,  wants  to  con- 
tact Chester  Black  and  Harold  E.  Billings.  Needs 
help  in  establishing  claim. 

Co.  B,  14th  Armored  Infantry  Bn.— Edward  A. 
Overstreet,  on  detached  service  in  mountains  in 
Northern  Italy,  disappeared  April  21,  1945,  and 
has  been  carried  as  AWOL  since  that  date.  Any 
comrade  with  information  about  him  is  requested 
to  communicate  with  Jesse  Overstreet,  (father), 
73  Main  Street,  Dobbs  Ferry,  N.  Y. 

U.S.S.  Lunga  Point,  No.  1  or  2  Fireroom  — 
Need  proof  of  injury  when  I  fell  on  January  9, 
1945;  will  shipmates  please  write  me.  John  A. 
Ecklund,  10«3  17th  Avenue,  SE,  Minneapolis  14, 
Minn.  , 

Co.  B,  324th  Engineers,  Camp  Van  Dorn,  Miss. 
—Will  anyone  who  remembers  my  back  injury 
while  bridge  building  please  write  me.  John  W. 
Tigert,  818   10th  Street.  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

Co.  I,  118th  Infantry,  (WWl)-Statement  of 
Walter  J.  Peters,  last  address  Kankakee,  111., 
needed  to  prove  claim.  Please  write  Leslie  O. 
Smock,  P.  O.  Box   74    Kanawha,  Iowa. 

Co.  A,  136th  Combat  Engineers— Men  in  this 
outfit  stationed  at  Camp  Cook,  Cal.  June  to  Sep- 
tember, 1943,  who  remember  that  Nelson  B.  Freer 
was  kicked  on  the  head  while  wrestling  in  train- 
ing, please  write  him  at  172  North  3rd  St., 
Hughesville,  Pa.  Especially  wants  statements  of 
Captain  MelloAf,  Sgt.  Peters.  Robert  Finsmith, 
George  Shirk  and  Thomas  GriiTy. 

U.S.S.  Boston— Frank  C.  Rousseau,  2436  Spruce 
Ave.,  Kansas  City  1,  Mo.,  would  like  to  contact 
any  shipmates  of  the  7th  Division  who  served 
aboard  to  September,  1945.  Needs  assistance  in 
completing  records  for  disability  claim. 

564th  T.S.S.,  Atlantic  City,  N.  j. -James  T. 
Flanagan,  (known  as  Pop),  170  Bergen  Street, 
Newark  3,  N.  J.,  would  like  to  get  in  touch  with 
anyone  who  served  in  this  outfit  from  July  to 
December,  1942,  to  aid  in  establishing  a  claim 
for  disability. 

Paging  Soldier  McBride— I  need  the  help  of  a 
soldier  named  McBride  who  served  with  me  at 
Camp  Stoneman,  July  and  August,  1945.  Believed 
to  be  from  Texas,  and  had  graduated  from  para- 
trooper school  at  Fort  Benning.  Trying  to  estab- 
lish claim.  Harold  McQuiston,  Sandy  Lake,  Pa. 

Co.  G,  104  Ammunition  Train,  (WWl) -State- 
ment of  Pvt.  DeRoy  Holmes,  formerly  of  Provo, 
Utah,  needed  to  establish  claim.  Please  write.  Ben 
A.  Liehr,  409  W.  Washington  St.,  Macomb,  111. 

Hospital,  Nashville  Army  Air  Classification 
Center— Claude  C.  Pitts,  110  Williams  St.,  Oxford, 
Ala.,  is  trying  to  locate  1st  Lt.  Toll,  M.C.,  on 


duty  at  that  hospital  in  February,  1944,  who  e.x- 
amined  and  treated  him.  Statement  needed. 

Service  Co.,  4Ulst  Glider  Inf.,  lOlsl  Ab  Div.— 
Need  to  contact  former  members  of  this  unit. 
Please  write  Henry  R.  Dmoch,  Morrison  Hotel, 
Phoenix,  Ariz. 

Station  Hospital,  Camp  Tyson,  Tenn.— Will  the 
medical  officer  in  charge  of  this  hospital  in 
October,  1943,  please  write.  Statement  needed  to 
establish  claim  of  disabled  vet.  V.  J.  Sauter,  Ser- 
vice Officer,  The  American  Legion,  Fonda,  Iowa. 

Co.  C,  254th  Inf.,  63rd  Div. -Want  statement  of 
3rd  Platoon  medics,  or  anyone  who  knows  of 
incident  when  I  was  taken  to  hospital  while  on 
maneuvers  in  Germany  just  after  the  war  for 
treatment  lor  blood  poisoning.  Alfred  Pfeft'er, 
Parkers  Prairie,  Minn. 

Btry  A,  3U6th  FA,  77th  Div.-Will  anyone  who 
served  with  me  in  September,  1918,  please  write. 
Help  needed  to  prove  injury.  Lewis  Blake,  Belden 
St.,  Williamstown,  Mass. 

Co.  A,  9th  Armored  Engineer  Bn.— Men  who 
know  of  my  injury  in  Battle  of  Bulge  are  re- 
quested to  write.  Known  as  "Whitty"  Person,  I 
was  heavy  machine  gunner  on  a  half-track.  Par. 
ticularly  remember  Sgt.  Ossi.  Maurice  E.  Person, 
Rt.  3,  Seymour,  Mo. 

817th  Signal  Service  Co.— Am  trying  to  estab- 
lish my  claim  for  injury;  anyone  who  served  with 
me  in  Leghorn,  Italy,  please  write.  Albert  E. 
Lane,  Jr.    970  Lincoln  Ave.,  Cranford,  N.  J. 

U.S.S.  Indiana— U.S.S.  Honolulu— Need  to  con- 
tact group~of  sailors  transferred  from  the  Indiana 
to  the  mainland  about  September  5,  1943;  delayed 
in  Pearl  Haroor  and  later  sent  to  SF  on  the 
Honolulu.  Help  needed  in  claim.  John  A.  Bel- 
castro,  Y2c,  400  East  Huntington  Drive,  Arcadia, 
Cal. 


Membership  Getters 

Willis  Johnson,  member  of  Denver 
Edward  Post,  Pearsall,  Texas,  and  Chef 
de  Gare  Passe  of  Tri-County  Voiture 
No.  1295,  40  and  8,  Natalia,  had  signed 
up  100  members  for  1949  before  Novem- 
ber 11.  By  early  January  he  had  en- 
rolled 134  and  was  still  going  strong. 
Another  member  of  the  Century  Club 
is  Legionnaire  "Doc"  Deponty,  who  had 
turned  in  a  round  100  members  to 
Wenatchee  (Washington)  Post  No.  10 
before  the  first  of  January. 


JL&JLSLSLSLSLSLSiJLSJIJLSLSlJiSLS^^ 


OUTFIT 
REUNIONS 


'Tnj"ff"a~(reTrB~8"c"6"e"o"o'Tnj  a  a  a  yo'crinrins 

5th  (Red  Diamond)  Infantry  Division— Annual 
reunion,  both  WWs,  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
September  3-5,  1949.  Rhode  Island  Camp  is  host; 
headquarters  at  Sheraton-Biltmore  Hotel.  For 
information  contact  William  Barton  Bruce,  Sr., 
Secretary,  48  Ayrault  St.,  Providence  8,  R.  I. 

6th  (Red  Star)  Infantry  Division— Annual  re- 
union at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  J8-30,  1949. 
Headquarters.  Hotel  Jefferson.  Write  W.  D. 
Montgomery,  3216   Park   Ave.,  St.  Louis  4,  Mo. 

30th  (Old  Hickory)  Infantry  Division— Conven- 
tion at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  June  16-18, 
1949.  For  information  write  John  W.  Craig, 
Charlotte,  N.  C. 

37th  (Buckeye)  Infantry  Division— Annual  re- 
union at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  September  3-5,  1949. 
Headquarters,  Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel.  For  in- 
formation contact  Headquarters,  37th  Div.  Vet- 
erans Association,  1101  Wyandotte  Bldg.,  Colum- 
bus 15,  Ohio. 

102nd  (Ozarks)  Infantry  Division— Permanent 
Association  formed  at  Philadelphia,  February  24, 
1949.  Former  Ozarks  are  requested  to  contact 
J.  H.  Chaille,  P.  O.  Box  683.  General  Postoffice, 
New  York  1,  N.  Y.,  to  complete  rosters  and  to 
arrange  for  next  reunion. 

Co.  E.,  327th  Infantry,  82nd  Div.  (both  WWs) 
—Members  write  Irvin  D.  Robinson,  127  E.  Chest- 
nut St.,  Hanover,  Pa.,  to  complete  arrangements 
for  dinner  and  reunion. 

Co.  A,  314th  Infantry,  79th  Div.  (WW2)-Re- 
union  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  August  5-7.  Contact 
John  R.  Hoke,  800  Quentin  Road,  Lebanon,  Pa. 

China-Burma-India  Veterans  Association— Sec- 
ond annual  roundup  of  CBI  vets  at  Freeport. 
Illinois,  August  12-14,  1949.  Ample  housing  and 
amusements.  For  info  and  reservations  write 
Ellsworth  Green,  Jr.,  Vice  Commander,  8  Galena 
Ave.,  Freeport,  111. 

U.S.S.  Henrico  (APA  45)— Second  annual  reunion 
at  Woodstock  Hotel,  New  York  City,  May  28, 
1949.  For  reservations  and  information  contact 
J.  Chiarini,  1721  76th  St.,  Brooklyn  14,  N.  Y., 
or  John  P.  O'Hanlon,  1443  Taylor  Ave.,  New 
York  60,  N.  Y. 


51st  Troop  Carrier  Wing— Reunion  at  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  July  29-31,  1949;  hdqrs.  at  Roosevelt 
Hotel.  Men  oers  of  groups  or  units  attached  to 
the  Wing  are  invited  to  attend.  For  reservations 
write  Joseph  Krotec,  40  Maplewood  St.,  Etna 
23,  Pa. 

21st  Engineers  (L.R.)  Society— J.  H.  Brooks, 
Secretary,  advises  that  the  notice  of  reunion  at 
Chicago,  published  in  this  column  in  March,  was 
in  error.  It  is  understood  that  the  21st  Engineers 
(Aviation)  intend  to  form  an  association  of 
their  own.  Announcement  of  time  and  place  of 
28th  annual  reunion  of  the  21st  Engineers  (L.R.) 
will  be  made  later. 

444  AAA  Battalion— Former  members  write  Leo 
Surdut,  4841  W.  25th  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  to 
arrange  lor  first  reunion. 

95th  Evac.  Hospital,  Sm-Bl— First  reunion  at 
Akron,  Ohio,  July  1-2,  1949.  Contact  Dick  Sey- 
mour, 253  14th  St.,  N.W.,  Barberton,  Ohio,  for 
information. 

160th  General  Hospital— Second  national  re- 
union at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May  28,  1949.  For 
details  write  Albert  J.  Ordini,  Secretary,  10 
Southard  St.,  Paterson  3,  N.  J. 

Co.  D,  2nd  Battalion,  21st  Aviation  Engineer 
Regiment— Annual  reunion  at  Hershey,  Pa.,  June 
18,  19,  1949.  Write  Ken  Irwin,  118  Holmes  St., 
Vandergrift,  Pa.,  for  information  and  reserva- 
tions. 

Co.  E,  273rd  Infantry,  69th  Div.-Membeis  in- 
terested in  a  reunion  to  be  held  Labor  Day  week- 
end, in  middle  west,  write  F.  Reemsnyder,  P.  O. 
Box  81,  Calexico,  Cal.,  or  Wm.  Gleason,  4050 
Blaisdell  Ave.,  So.,  Minneapolis  8,  Minn. 

1330th  Engineers  General  Service  Regiment- 
Second  reunion  at  George  T.  Cornish  Post  292, 
American  Legion,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  2-4, 
1949.  Former  members  please  contact  McKinney 
Miller,  424  N.  59th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

U.S.S.  Leedstown  Survivors  association  —  Re- 
union and  memorial  service  May  30,  1949.  Con- 
tact Frank  A.  Wiseman,  President,  126  West 
82nd  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  or  George  I.  Malcom, 
Secretary,  1842  Broadway,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Battery  C,  217th  CA  (AA)-Fourth  annual  re- 
union at  Garden  Center,  Alexandria,  Minn.,  Sat- 
urday, May  14,  1949.  Write  Lyle  B.  Anderson, 
P.  O.  Box  304,  Alexandria,  Minn. 

156th  U.S.  Army  General  Hospital— Fourth  an- 
nual reunion.  Terrace  Casino,  Morrison  Hotel, 
Chicago,  111.,  on  September  3,  1949.  Information 
from  Paul  J.  Schmidt,  Jr.,  6616  South  Wood  St., 
Chicago  36,  111. 

Chemical  Warfare  Service  Veterans  Associa- 
tion—Regional leunion  dinner,  Chicago,  May  2b, 

1949.  13th  annual  reunion  with  American  Legion 
National  Convention,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  August 
28-September  1.  Vets  both  WWs  and  men  now 
in  active  Chemical  Corps  service  invited.  I'or 
details  write  George  W.  Nichols,  Secretary-Treas- 
urer, RFD  3,  Kingston,  N.  Y. 

4  77th  Military  Police  Escort  Guard  Co.— Mem- 
bers interested  in  reunion  contact  Albert  M. 
Becker,  572  Main  St.,  Islip,  L.  I.,  N.  Y. 

Btrys  D  and  E,  64th  CAC,  WWl-Reunion  at 
Toledo,  Ohio,  in  June.  Write  T.  E.  Wartson,  1564 
Colton  St.,  Toledo  9,  Ohio. 

52nd  Engineers,  R.T.C.  (WWl)-Reunion  at 
Clarence  Parker  Hotel,  Minot,  North  Dakota, 
July  22-24.  Write  J.  A.  Bell,  National  Adjutant, 
378  Neshannock  Ave.,  New  Castle,  Pa. 

WAVES,  Naval  Air  Station,  Willow  Grove,  Pa. 
—Second  biennial  reunion  of  all  WAVEs  at  this 
station  will  be  held  at  Portland,  Oregon,  in  June, 

1950.  For  further  information  contact  Miss  Elaine 
Morse,  Rt.  2,  Box  202,  Newberg,  Oregon. 

Tanker  Reunion— Stag  dinner  and  reunion  of 
"Tankers"  of  both  wars  on  Friday  evening.  May 
13,  1949,  at  Manhattan  Towers  Hotel,  Broadway 
and  76th  Street  New  York  City.  Hosts,  749th 
Tank  Battalion  and  Tank  Corps  Post  No.  715, 
American  Legion.  For  information  write  James 
J.  Gough,  Jr.,  Adjutant,  773  Quincy  St.,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

U.S.S.  Wilhelmina  Band  (WWl)-Members  in- 
terested in  a  reunion  at  Philadelphia  during 
Legion  National  Convention,  August  29-Septem- 
ber  1,  contact  Harry  Breyn,  823  Prospect  Ave., 
Cleveland  15,  Ohio. 

390th  Bomb  Group— Meeting  at  Omaha  on  Feb- 
ruary 4,  resulted  in  plans  for  national  reunion 
all  former  officers  during  summer  or  early  fall. 
Interested  officers  write  P.  O.  Box  654,  Omaha, 
Nebraska. 

3rd  Air  Force  Finances  Office— Reunion  at  Tam- 
pa, Fla.,  June  18-20,  1949.  Write  Albert  U.  Mixon, 
648  Princeton  Ave.,  Birmingham  11,  Ala.,  for 
details. 

j76th  AAA,  AW  Battalion,  (Sep)— Former  mem- 
bers interested  in  a  reunion  write  James  H. 
Marks,  868  York  Avenue,  SW,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

5U9tn  Parachute  Infantry  Battalion— 1st  An- 
nual Reunion  will  be  held  in  New  York  City, 
May  28-30  at  the  Hotel  Astor.  For  information 
and  reservations  contact  Captain  Ernest  Siegel, 
274  1st  Avenue,  New  York,   New  York. 

National  Association  of  American  Balloon 
Corps  Veterans  —  18th  annual  reunion.  Hotel 
Shraton,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  August  27-31,  1949, 
concurrently  with  Legion  National  Convention. 
Contact  Craig  S.  Herbert,  3333  North  18th  St., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Destroyer  Jarvis,  DD  799— Based  at  Attu.  Re- 
union, Decatur,  111.,  July  30-31.  Info  from  Floyd 
N.  Troxel,   1544  East  Main  St.,  Decatur,  111. 

Sea  Bee  Veterans  of  America— Second  annual 
reunion  at  Atlantic  City.  N.  J.,  September  9-11, 
1949.  For  information  write  B.  G.  Adams,  Room 
700,  Guarantee  Trust  Bldg.,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


SOME  THINGS  TO  DISCUSS 
IN  YOUR  POST  MEETINGS 

This  number  (May)  of  the  Maga- 
zine is  chock-full  of  meaty  articles 
of  particular  interest  to  veterans  as 
Legionnaires  and  as  citizens.  Three 
articles  on  the  Legion-citizen  angle 
stand  out,  and  are  recommended  for 
study  and  discussion  in  your  Post 
meetings.  They  are: 

Kids'  County  -  By  Will  Oursler. 
Page  22.  A  youth  training  citizen- 
ship movement  developed  in  Ne- 
braska. There  are  some  new 
wrinkles  for  serious  consideration. 

How  Communists  Make  Stooges 
Out  of  Movie  Stars-By  R.  E.  Combs. 
Page  14.  This  is  a  revealing  story 
which  proves  that,  as  many  have 
suspected,  some  of  our  film  celebri- 
ties are  not  quite  bright. 

What's  Wrong  With  U.S.  History 
—  By  John  Dixon.  Page  16.  Maybe 
this  will  go  a  long  way  to  explain 
why  some  children  fall  for  subver- 
sive doctrines. 


WW2  VETS  ARE  URGED  TO 

CONTINUE  NSLI  POLICIES 

GI  term  insurance  is  approaching 
expiration  dates  for  an  increasing  num- 
ber of  veterans,  particularly  for  those 
who  went  into  the  service  early  the 
Veterans  Administration  warns. 

These  veterans  must  take  action  if 
they  wish  to  keep  their  National  Service 
Life  Insurance  in  force.  Expiring  con- 
tracts may  be  renewed  for  a  new  five- 
year  term  or  converted  to  a  permanent 
plan. 

Term  insurance  taken  out  while  in 
service  before  the  end  of  1945  expires 
eight  years  after  it  was  issued.  Many 
veterans  took  out  their  insurance  early 
in  1941.  Some  of  these  contracts  are 
expiring  now. 

VA  will  notify  these  veterans  before 
their  contracts  expire.  However,  vet- 
erans should  themselves  check  the  ex- 
piration dates  of  their  policies  so  that 
they  will  be  prepared  to  renew  or  con- 
vert before  the  original  insurance  ex- 
pires, or  they  will  have  no  insurance. 

HOLD  ON  TO  YOUR  GI  INSUR- 
ANCE!! 


POSTON  GETS  ASSIGNMENT 
AS  LEGISLATIVE  ASSOCIATE 

Assistant  National  Adjutant  Robert 
R.  Poston,  who  has  been  stationed  at 
the  National  Headquarters  at  Indian- 
apolis, has  been  selected  as  the  new 
Associate  Director  of  the  Legion's  Na- 
tional Legislative  Commission.  In  that 
capacity  he  will  work  with  National 
Legislative  Director  John  Thomas  Tay- 
lor at  the  Washington  headquarters. 

A  veteran  of  WW2  with  a  record  of 
nearly  five  years  of  service,  Poston  is 
a  member  of  Beaumont,  Texas,  Post 
No.  33.  He  is  a  native  of  Council  Bluffs, 
Iowa,  and  joined  the  national  staff  of 
The  American  Legion  soon  after  his 
release  from  military  service  in  1945. 


MACNIDER  AND  AINSWORTH 
ON  NEW  PROMOTION  LIST 

Past  National  Commander  Hanford 
MacNider,  Mason  City,  Iowa,  was  one 
of  three  nominated  as  Major  Generals 
in  the  Officers  Reserve  Corps  by  Presi- 
dent Truman  in  mid-March.  H,  Miller 
Ainsworth,  Luling,  Texas,  Past  Depart- 
ment Commander  and  present  National 
Executive  Committeeman  of  the  Lone 
Star  State,  was  one  of  26  nominated  to 
the  grade  of  Brigadier  General. 

Both  are  two-war  veterans.  General 
MacNider  had  nearly  all  of  the  offen- 
sive operation  in  the  Pacific  in  several 
commands.  Most  notable  was  the  opera- 
tion of  his  command,  the  158th  Regi- 
mental Combat  Team,  in  the  Philippine 
campaign,  where  for  some  weeks  his 
outfit  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fighting  in 
Northern  .  Luzon.  General  Ainsworth 
was  a  regimental  commander  in  the 
36th  Division,  particularly  distinguished 
in  the  campaign  in  Italy. 

Past  Depai'tment  Commander  Sump- 
ter  Lowry,  Tampa,  Florida,  Command- 
ing General  of  the  51st  Infantry  Divi- 
sion, was  a  member  of  the  promotion 
board. 


Know  Your  Re-Employment  Rights 

Many  veterans,  it  is  believed,  are  laid 
off  or  suffer  loss  of  jobs  because  they 
are  not  familiar  with  the  re-employ- 
ment provisions  of  the  law.  The  Labor 
Department  has  issued  two  helpful 
publications,  "Know  Your  Re-Employ- 
ment Rights,"  and  "Informational  Slip." 
These  pamphlets  are  available  to  vet- 
erans, particularly  to  Legion  Service 
Officers,  by  writing  Robert  K.  Salyers, 
Director,  Bureau  of  Veterans'  Re-Em- 
ployment Rights,  Room  7318,  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 


THE  AMERICAN  LEGION 
NATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS 
INDIANAPOLIS.  INDIANA 
FEBRUARY  28,  1949 

ASSETS 

Cash  on  hand  and  on  deposit.  . $1,091,324.81 

Receivable    209,523.98- 

Inventories    510,987.43 

Invested  Funds   959,265.96 

Permanent  Investments: 

Overseas  Graves  Decoration 

Trust  Fund    255.440.11 

Employees'  Retirement  Trust 

Fund     1,018,299.76 

Real  Estate,  less  depreciation..  561,320.94 
Furniture,  Fixtures  &  Equipment, 

less  depreciation    289,982.72 

Deferred  Charges    110,193.14 

$5,006,338.85 


LIABILITIES,  DEFERRED  REVENUE 
AND  NET  WORTH 

Current  Liabilities  $  247,653.11 

Funds  Restricted  as  to  use   195,342.37 

Deferred  Revenue    1,466,518.69 

Permanent  Trusts: 

Overseas  Graves  Decoration 
Trust  Fund  .  .$  255,440.11 
Employees'  Retirement 

Trust  Fund  . .  1,018,299.76 


Net  Worth: 
Restricted 

Capital   750,128.90 

Unrestricted 

Capital   1,072,955.91 


1,273,739.87 


1,823,084.81 
$5,006,338.85 


1  FIVE  MORE  DEPARTMENTS 
MAKE  '49  MEMBER  QUOTA 

Five  more  Legion  Departments  — 
Vermont,  New  Hampshire  and  Kan- 
sas, Minnesota  and  Wyoming— have 
gone  over  the  top  in  filling  the  na- 
tional quota  assignment  for  1949. 
Eleven  Departments  in  all  have 
achieved  this  distinction,  and  four 
more,  with  more  than  90  percent  of 
quota  reported,  are  within  striking 
distance. 

The  six  other  quota-filled  Depart- 
ments are  Indiana,  Iowa,  Nebraska, 
North  Dakota,  Philippine  Islands, 
and  South  Dakota.  Just  ready  to 
break  the  barrier  are  Arizona, ^ 
Arkansas,  Montana  and  Nevada. 


COMMY  WORLD  CONFERENCE 
DRAWS  FIRE  OF  PATRIOTS 

A  so-called  "cultural  and  scientific 
conference  for  world  peace"  sponsored 
by  the  National  Council  of  Arts, 
Sciences  and  Professions,  held  at  New 
York  on  March  25-27,  flopped  badly 
because  of  adverse  publicity.  Despite 
strong  Legion  protests  the  Department 
of  Justice  admitted  about  thirty  foreign 
delegates,  mostly  from  communist  coun- 
tries. Massed  picket  lines  of  various 
patriotic  groups  surrounded  the  swanky 
Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel,  the  conference 
headquarters,  attracting  thousands  of 
spectators.  A  militant  counter-demon- 
stration and  conference  by  Americans 
for  Intellectual  Freedom  also  helped 
to  expose  and  discredit  this  latest  com- 
munist-inspired confidence  game.  A  full 
report  on  this  conference,  listing  its  600 
speakers  and  sponsors,  is  published  in 
full  in  the  Americanism  Commission's 
March  issue  of  "Summary  of  Trends 
and  Developments  in  the  Field  of  Sub- 
versive Activities." 


Post  Home  on  New  Airmail  Stamp 

The  6-cent  airmail  stamp  commem- 
orating the  bicentenary  of  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  has  a  picture  of  historic 
Gadsby's  Tavern,  which  is  owned  by 
and  is  the  home  of  Alexandria  Legion 
Post,  in  its  design.  The  new  stamp  will 
be  placed  on  sale  at  Alexandria  on  May 
11.  Seventy  million  stamps  were  printed 
in  the  first  issue. 


Child  Welfare  in  Alaska 

Perry  S.  McLain,  Child  Welfare 
Chairman  for  the  Department  of 
Alaska,  reports  contributions  of  $500 
from  Aleutian  Islands  Post  No.  9,  Adak 
and  another  500  from  Voiture  No.  1235, 
to  be  used  for  the  relief  of  needy 
children  of  Alaskan  veterans.  Both  units 
are  located  away  out  in  the  outskirts, 
and  this  contribution,  says  Chairman 
McLain,  is  the  biggest  boost  of  the  year 
for  Alaskan  child  welfare. 

"The  Adak  Legionnaires  do  big 
things.  ■  Last  year  they  enrolled  1,000 
members  to  boost  the  Department  to 
its  top  notch,"  McLain  says. 


2g  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


Veterans  Newsletter 

A   DIGEST  OF   EVENTS   WHICH   ARE    LIKE  LY  TO   BE   OF    PERSONAL   INTEREST   TO  YOU 


NEW  STATE  BONUS  LAWS  ENACTED:  At  the  1948 
elections  the  voters  of  several  States 
approved  proposals  to  pay  bonuses  to  WW2 
vets.... In  each  instance,  excepting 
Louisiana,    (which  is  now  ready  to  start 
payment) ^   further  legislation  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  make  the  plans  operative 
....State  solons  wrestled  with  the  prob- 
lems during  their  1949  sessions,  with 
the  following  results: 

INDIANA:  $10  per  month  for  home,  and  $15 
per  month  for  foreign  service,  up  to  a 

maximum  of  $600  Vets  with  10  percent 

or  more  service-connected  disability  draw 
$100  additional. .. .Residence  in  Indiana 
for  six  months  prior  to  enlistment  or 
induction ;  90  days  or  more  service  between 
December  7^  1941,  and  September  2j_  1945 
....Application  forms  will  not  be  ready 
for  a  few  months,  but  all  applications 
must  be  filed  before  June  50.  1950. . .Act 
will  be  administered  by  Veteran  Affairs 
Commission.  World  War  Memorial  Building. 
Indianapolis .  Indiana. ...  Bonus  plan  is 
to  be  financed  by  increase  in  gross  income 
tax.... The  gimmick  is  that  no  payments 
will  be  made  until  all  necessary  funds  are 
collected. . . .May  take  five  or  six  years 
to  raise  the  fund. 

IOWA:  $10  per  month  for  home  and  $12.50 
per  month  for  foreign  service,  up  to  maxi- 
mum of  $500. . . .Eligibility  requirements 
are  that  vet  must  have  been  a  legal  resi- 
dent at  time  of  induction  and  at  least  six 
months  immediately  prior  thereto ... .Ac- 
tive service  in  U.S.  armed  forces  btween 
September  16,   1940  and  September  2^  1945 
....Next  of  kin  entitled  to  bonus  of  de- 
ceased veterans,  or  to  $500  if  veteran 
died  of  service-conncted  causes. . . .Appli- 
cation blanks  available  about  May  1. . . . 
Iowa  residents  get  theirs  at  County 
Courthouses. .. .Eligible  lowans  living 
elsewhere  get  blanks  from  World  War  2 
Service  Compensation  Board.  Des  Moines , 
Iowa. .. .Friendly  court  action  involves 
only  question  of  payment  of  bonus  from 
surplus  funds  or  from  special  property 
tax  levy. 

MINNESOTA:  Bills  for  a  bonus  are  pending 
in  both  Houses  of  the  Minnesota  Legislature 
....Voters  at  the  1948  election  approved 
the  principle  of  a  WW2  bonus,  but  the  pro- 
posal fixed  no  rate  of  payment  or  plan  for 
financing. . .Legislature  was  wrestling 
with  the  problem  at  the  time  this  News- 
letter was  closed. 

NORTH  DAKOTA ;  $12.50  per  month  for  home  and 
$17.50  for  overseas,  no  maximum. . . .Legal 


May,  1949 

residents  of  State  who  served  between 
January  ]^  1941.  and  January       1946.  are 
eligible .. .No  restriction  on  post-war 
residence,  and  certain  protection  of 
rights  is  granted  legal  residents  who 
entered  service  from  other  States . . , . 
Administration  of  Act  will  be  under  Heber 
L.  Edwards.  Adjutant  General.  Fraine 
Barracks.  Bismarck^  North  Dakota. . . . 
Application  blanks  will  be  made  available 
through  Legion  Posts,  as  well  as  official 
channels. . .Payment  is  expected  to  start 
about  July  l....This  is  one  of  the  most 
liberal  State  grants,  in  monthly  rate,  no 
maximum,  which  permits  payment  for  all 
service .  and  in  broad  residential  require- 
ments. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA ;  50  cents  per  day  for  state- 
side and  75  cents  per  day  for  foreign 
service  ,  up  to  a  maximum  of  $500  for  home  and 
$650  for  foreign,  or  combination  of  home 
and  foreign  service . . . .Eligible  are  legal 
residents  of  not  less  than  six  months  prior 
to  entering  WW2  armed  forces  who  served 
90  days  or  more  between  December  7 ,  1941 , 
and  September  2,  1945 . . . .Dependents  are 
entitled  to  bonus  of  deceased  veterans.... 
Applications  must  be  filed  by  July  1,  1950 , 
and  all  payments  must  be  completed  by 
December  51 ,  1950. . . .Administered  by  South 
Dakota  Veterans  Bonus  Board.  J.  J.  Kibbe , 
Director.  Pierre .  South  Dakota. . . .Appli- 
cation forms  are  being  drafted,  and  pay- 
ments are  expected  to  start  about  July  1. 
*     *     *  * 

WASHINGTON  HAS  NEW  BONUS  BILL:  A  bonus 
referendum  approved  by  the  voters  of 
Washington  at  the  1948  election  was  held 
unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court.... 
The  Legislature  has  enacted  another  bill 
which  is  designed  to  cure  the  deficiencies 
of  the  original  proposal . . . .This  measure 
authorizes  a  bonus  to  legal  residents  of 
at  least  one  year  before  enlistment,  for 
service  between  December  7,  1941 ,  and 
September  2^  1945. . . .$10  per  month  for 
home,  $15  per  month  for  overseas  service, 
no  maximum  amount  fixed . . . .Bonus  of 
persons  who  died  while  in  service  is 
payable  to  dependents. .. .Payments  will  be 
made  through  the  office  of  the  State 
Auditor,  Olympia.  Washington. . . .Applica- 
tion blanks,  when  made  available,  can  be 
had  from  that  office  or  from  County  Court- 
houses ..  .Review  by  the  courts  is  expected 
to  determine  constitutionality  of  plan  of 
financing. . .If  court  clearance  is  given, 
payment  to  veterans  is  expected  to  start 
this  coming  summer. 


37 


WEST  VIRGINIA  AND  PENNSYLVANIA  TO  VOTE: 
The  Mountain  State  Legislature  submitted 
a  veterans  bonus  amendment  to  the  voters 
in  its  closing  hours  in  mid-March.... 
Proposal  includes  WWl  vets  who  served  be- 
tween April  6,  1917,  and  November  11,  1918, 
and  WW2  vets  for  service  between  December 
7,  1941,  and  September  2j_  1945. . .  .Six 
months  residence  in  State  prior  to  entering 
service  is  required. .. .Proposes  to  pay 
$10  per  month  for  home,  $15  for  foreign 
service,  up  to  a  maximum  of  $300  for  all 
home ,  and  $400  for  foreign  service . ...  To 
be  voted  on  at  general  election  in  Novem- 
ber, 1950. . .  .The  plan  is  unique  in  that  it 
is  the  only  one  submitted  that  includes 
veterans  of  both  World  Wars ... .Pennsyl- 
vania will  vote  to  approve  or  reject  a  half 
billion  dollar  WW2  bonus  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  at  the  next  general  election, 
(Newsletter,  April/49 ,  page  27) . 

*  *     «  * 

BONUS  LEGISLATION  PENDING:  Several  State 
Legislatures,  still  in  session,  had  bonus 
bills  pending  when  this  survey  was  made. . . 
In  New  Jersey  the  House  of  Delegates  has 
approved  a  liberal  plan  which  calls  for  a 
referendum  at  the  next  election. . . .Senate 
concurrence,  with  possible  amendments,  is 
regarded  as  virtually  certain. . .  .Colorado, 
Delaware,  Kansas,  Maryland,  Tennessee  and 
Texas  Legislatures  have  bonus  bills  under 
consideration. . . .Most  of  these  are  given 
little  or  no  chance  for  favorable  action. 

*  *     *  * 

WW2  BONUS  PAID  BY  STATES:  Eleven  States  and 
two  Territories  have  paid,  or  are  now  pay- 
ing, a  special  State  bonus  to  WW2  servicemen 
and  women. . . . Connecticut .  (deadline  for 
applications  July  1 , 1949) ....  Illinois , 
(deadline  July  1,  1949) . . . .Louisiana. 
(payments  just  starting) . . . .Massachusetts , 
(no  deadline  for  applications) . . . .Michigan, 
(time  for  filing  applications  expired 
March  20,  1949) . . . .New  Hampshire,  (no 
deadline )... .New  York,   (no  deadline; 
proposed  repeal  of  section  excluding  New 
York  veterans  not  now  residents  to  be  voted 
on  at  1949  election) . . . .Ohio ,   (no  dead- 
line) . . . .Rhode  Island,  (all  payments  were 
completed  December  31,  1947) . . . .Vermont , 
(no  deadline) . . . .Alaska,   (for  vets  who 
returned  to  Territory  after  war;  stay- 
aways  must  have  had  5  years  residence  be- 
fore war  and  meet  other  requirements  ;  no 
deadline) . . . .Hawaii .   (for  vets  with  10 
percent  or  more  service-connected  dis- 
ability only) ... .Twenty  States  paid 
bonuses  to  WWl  vets,  at  a  total  cost  of 
$400,000,000. 

*  >f:  *  >!! 

ROUNDUP  ON  THE  BONUS  FRONT :  In  California 
the  Assembly  Interim  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs  voted  against  the  adoption  of  any 
cash  bonus  plan. .. .Bonus  measure  was 
defeated  in  the  Legislatures  of  Montana 
and  New  Mexico. . . .Tabled  in  Committee  in 
South  Carolina. . . .No  action  on  bonus 
matters  is  reported  by  the  Department 
Adjutants  of  Alabama,  Arizona,  Arkansas , 


Florida,  Georgia,  Idaho .  Mississippi , 
Nevada.  North  Carolina.  Utah.  Wyoming  and 
Virginia. . . .At  elections  in  previous  years 
the  voters  have  re j ected  bonus  proposals 
in  referendums  in  Maine ,  Missouri . 
Nebraska.  Oregon  and  Wisconsin. 

«     *     *  * 

NSLI  DIVIDENDS  AGAIN:  Growing  impatience 
at  delay  in  making  distribution  of  accrued 
surplus  in  National  Service  Life  Insurance 
fund  is  reflected  in  stream  of  critical 
letters  flowing  into  the  Newsletter  from  WW2 
vets. .. .Latest  official  word  is:  General 
Carl  R.  Gray,  Jr. .  Veterans  Administrator. 
told  Legion  Rehabilitation  Conference  that 
"the  best  information  I  have  is  that  we 
will  be  able  to  pay  before  June  30.  1950" 
....He  mentioned  the  tremendous  task  of 
auditing  19,700,000  separate  insurance 
accounts  to  determine  the  amounts  payable  ; 
did  not  know  how  much  of  the  $7,500,000,000 
surplus  would  be  paid  out  in  dividends.... 
Meantime  VA  found  it  necessary  to  warn 
veterans  against  sharp-shooters  and  rack- 
eteers who  are  peddling  "special  dividend 
applications"  at  $10  and  $15  to  the  gul- 
lible.... It  is  a  gyp  game,  pure  and  simple 
....When  application  forms  are  made  ready 
they  will  be  furnished  by  the  VA  without 
charge .  and  Legion  Service  Officers  will 
be  ready  to  assist  in  filling  them  out, 
also  without  charge . 

*     *     *  * 

ON  THE  COMMIE  FRONT:  Recent  communist 
activities  have  created  a  sensation 
throughout  the  country. . . .have  also  served 
to  emphasize  the  extent  of  red  infiltra- 
tion. .  .Delaying  tactics  of  counsel  for  the 
11  head  commies  under  trial  in  New  York  for 
conspiracy  to  overthrow  the  Government . . . . 
Arrest  and  indictment  of  a  woman  employe 
of  the  Department  of  Justice  and  a  Russian 
engineer  assigned  to  the  United  Nations  on 
charges  of  pilfering  secret  Government 
documents . . . .The  bold  statement  of  Foster 
and  Dennis,  top  red  officials ,  following 
the  Kremlin  line  first  laid  down  by  red 
leaders  in  Europe,  that  should  war  come 
between  U.S.  and  Russia,  the  commies  would 
take  the  treasonable  position  of  opposing 

the  U.S  The  new  Mundt-Nixon  Bill 

(S.  1194  by  Senator  Karl  E.  Mundt ,  and 
H.R.  3342  by  Representative  Richard  M. 
Nixon)  substantially  in  accord  with  Legion 
demand  at  the  Miami  National  Convention, 
tightens  the  provisions  curtailing  commie 
activities,  provides  tougher  series  of 
penalties,  includes  a  new  section  out- 
lawing peacetime  espionage,  makes  the 
statute  of  limitations  inapplicable  to 
treasonable  acts  in  time  of  peace ,  and 
requires  registration  and  publication  of 
commie  party  members ....  Sponsors  say  that 
it  does  not  outlaw  the  party,  but  sets  up 
regulations  to  force  it  out  into  the  open 
. . . .Right  to  hold  appointive  Federal 
office  and  to  secure  American  passports  to 
travel  abroad  is  denied  commies  in  this 
measure . 


38 


one  of  the  early  riders  of  the  quiz  show 
bandwagon,  a  pioneer  wagon- rider,  you 
might  say.  And  my  show  was  "What's  My 
Name,"  a  biographical  program  giving 
clues  about  well-known  people.  The  clues, 
for  any  one  contestant,  get  easier  'as  they 
go  along.  But  the  money  gets  smaller.  I 
figured  that  a  craze  was  a  craze,  and  it 
would  burn  itself  out;  maybe  meanwhile 
my  partner,  Ed  Byron  and  I  would  have  a 
show  that  would  ride  this  craze  for  three, 
perhaps  even  six  months.  I've  got  a  great 
time-sense,  apparently.  The  show  is  still 
going  strong,  after  eleven  years. 

Somebody  who  has  been  with  it  ever 
since  the  beginning,  and  who  is  still  go- 
ing great,  is  our  very  lovely  and  razor- 
sharp  lady  M.  C,  Arlene  Francis.  People 
are  always  asking  me  if  Arlene  is  really 
as  bright  as  she  sounds  on  the  air,  and  if 
those  clever  ad  libs  she  pulls  are  really 
her  own.  The  answer  is  that  she  is  every 
bit  as  bright  off  the  air  as  on,  and  those 
ad  libs  are  strictly  her  own.  They're  really 
ad  libs,  too.  (To  keep  the  record  straight, 
an  "ad  lib"  is  a  spur-of-the-moment,  un- 
written and  unrehearsed  remark.)  No- 
body is  more  surprised  than  the  program 
director  at  some  of  the  cracks  Arlene 
comes  up  with.  Recently,  for  instance, 
she  was  interviewing  a  young  Marine  in 
front  of  the  microphone.  He  was  obviously 
very  proud  of  the  uniform  he  wore,  and 
Arlene  made  quite  a  feature  of  his  chest- 
ful  of  fruit  salad,  bringing  out  the  fact 
that  he  had  accumulated  an  amazing  stack 
of  decorations.  Then  she  went  on  to  mar- 
riage, and  it  turned  out  that  the  young 
man  had  just  become  a  father  for  the 
second  time.  "Well,  I'm  certainly  glad  to 
hear  that.  Sergeant,"  smiled  Arlene,  "for 
a  while  there  I  was  afraid  that  you  had 
given  your  all  for  the  Marines." 

While  on  the  subject  of  things  that  are 
said  in  front  of  microphones,  we  were 
greatly  worried,  when  we  first  started  the 
program,  about  what  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Joe 
Typical  might  say  if  they  got  flustered  in 
front  of  the  microphone.  We  had  heard 
so  many  direful  dirges  of  dreadful  breaks 
that  people  were  said  to  have  made  that 
we  were  plenty  concerned,  and  for  the 
first  few  months  we  were  constantly  on 
pins  and  needles  waiting  for  that  terrible 
"mustn't-say-it"  to  come.  Well,  thus  far,  it 
has  never  come.  I  can't  recall  a  single  case 
of  a  really  bad  break  happenmg  on  our 
program— or  on  any  other  show  I  ever 
listened  to.  Granted,  many  people  we  have 
had  on  the  program  have  been  frightened 
into  silence  by  the  microphone  (while 
some  others  have  had  a  reverse  reaction, 
and  the  problem  has  been  to  shut  them 
up) .  But  nobody  has  yet  said  anything 
that  has  got  us  cut  off  the  air. 

People  at  home  sometimes  wonder  how 
the  contestants  for  quiz  shows  are  picked. 
The  details  vary,  but  the  basic  method  is 
pretty  much  the  same  on  different  shows 
today.  In  the  case  of  "What's  My  Name," 
the  first  row  of  seats  in  the  studio  is  re- 
served, and  as  soon  as  the  doors  open 
before  the  show  our  director,  Perry  Laf- 
ferty,  goes  down  into  the  auditorium  and 
begins  talking  to  people.  He  greets  them, 
asks  them  where  they're  from,  and  gen- 


QUIZ  SHOWS  FROM  THE  INSIDE 

(Continued  from  page  19) 
erally  makes  himself  agreeable.  When- 
ever he  finds  somebody  who  talks  up,  is 
bright  and  interesting,  he  sends  them 
down  to  sit  in  the  front  row.  (Tips  for 
those  who  want  to  get  out  of  the  audience 
and  up  on  stage  at  a  quiz  show:  Sit  on,  or 
as  near  the  aisle  as  you  can.  Look  bright 
and  interested  in  what's  going  on.  Hold 
your  hand  up  if  the  director  asks  for 
volunteers.  Get  it  up  quick;  don't  hesitate. 
Talk  up  loud  and  readily  if  a  microphone 
is  pushed  in  your  face;  you  don't  have  to 
be  brilliant,  just  be  willing.) 

When  that  front  row  of  seats  is  filled, 
he  has  about  twenty-four  "possibilities." 
Then,  a  few  minutes  before  air  time,  he 
takes  a  hand-microphone,  which  is  con- 
nected to  the  loudspeakers  at  either  side 
of  the  stage,  and  interviews  these  people 
again.  This  time,  with  their  voices  boom- 
ing back  at  them  from  the  speakers,  the 
ones  who'd  get  mike  fright  begin  to  dry 
up,  and  either  don't  talk  at  all,  or  simply 
gulp  monosyllables.  But  whenever  Perry 
finds  somebody  who  still  talks  up  inter- 
estingly, he  sends  that  person  up  on  stage 
as  a  contestant. 

This  brings  us  to  a  very  persistent  and 
peculiar  class  of  individual  —  the  Profes- 
sional Quiz  Contestant. 

These  pros  turn  up  at  broacfcast  after 
broadcast,  and  will  do  anything  short  of 
setting  themselves  afire  to  attract  the  di- 
rector's eye.  Many  of  them  calmly  assume 
that  quiz  programs  are  run  for  their  espe- 
cial benefit.  They  feel  that  after  they  have 
come  to  the  studio  for  several  weeks  on 
their  own  initiative,  that  they  have  a 
'right'  to  be  chosen. 

These  pros  never  seem  to  realize  that 
the  mere  fact  of  their  being  professionals 
rules  them  out  as  far  as  we  are  concerned. 
After  all,  we  put  on  a  program  for  just 
one  reason— to  further  the  interests  of  our 
sponsor.  We  pick  the  contestants  with  two 
objects  in  mind.  First,  that  they  should 
talk,  be  bright  and  help  the  show  along. 
Second,  that  they  should  go  home  and 


tell  their  friends  about  the  fun  they  had 
"when  they  were  on  the  radio."  We've 
found  that  a  good  excited  contestant,  who 
will  tell  everybody  about  it  afterward, 
does  an  amazing  amount  of  word-of- 
mouth  advertising. 

A  feature  of  "What's  My  Name"  in  its 
early  days  was  using  rounds  of  clues  sent 
in  by  members  of  the  radio  audience.  We 
offered  a  prize  of  ten  dollars  for  any  biog- 
raphy we  used  on  the  air  -  boy,  did  we 
throw  cash  around!  But  that  must  have 
seemed  pretty  important  money  in  those 
unsophisticated  days,  because  for  a  long, 
long  time  we  received  an  average  of  over 
twenty  thousand  entries  a  week. 

But  before  very  long  we  had  to  drop 
this  mail-pulling  idea;  partly  because  its 
very  success  made  it  so  expensive.  Han- 
dling all  that  mail  cost  better  than  five 
hundred  dollars  a  week  -  a  big  item  on  a 
low  cost  show.  The  other  reason  we  had 
to  drop  the  mail  never  even  occurred  to 
us  when  we  started. 

Let's  say  we  decided  to  do  a  round  of 
clues  on  George  Washington.  Well,  lots 
of  people  would  have  thought  that  George 
was  a  good  man  to  write  about,  and  we 
might  have  as  many  as  twenty-five  thou- 
sand entries  on  him.  So  we  would  pick 
one  entry  as  the  winner,  making  one  per- 
son very  happy.  But  we  would  also  make 
twenty- four  thousand,  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  other  people  very  mad.  So 
we  dropped  the  idea. 

People  sometimes  ask  if  Quiz  Shows 
aren't  rehearsed  ahead  of  time.  I  doubt 
it.  People  in  front  of  microphones  are 
crazy  enough.  They  don't  need  instruc- 
tion. I  know  that  "What's  My  Name"  is 
completely  unrehearsed,  and  so  was  an- 
other show  of  mine  -  "Surprise  Party"  — 
that  was  on  the  air  a  couple  of  years  ago. 
That  was  probably  the  most  complicated 
audience  participation  show  ever  at- 
tempted. To  start  off  with,  about  half  the 
show  took  place  outside  the  studio  alto- 
gether. We  used  two  radio  cars,  that  were 


"Ever  notice  how  little  time  those  people  actually  spend  working?" 


AMKKK'AN  LEOION  MAOAZINE 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


equipped  with  the  darnedest  collection  of 
shortwave  equipment  that  ever  made  a 
Radio  Ham's  eyes  bug  out.  These  two  cars 
were  in  constant  two-way  communication 
with  the  studio.  A  Master  of  Ceremonies 
rode  each  of  the  radio  cars,  and  each  had 
a  microphone  on  about  a  hundred  yards 
of  cable,  and  so  was  free  to  leave  the  radio 
car  and  go  calling;  an  engineer  followed 
along  behind  him,  paying  out  cable. 

These  two  roving  M.  C.'s  went  calling 
-  actually  and  literally.  They  would  step 
on  somebody's  front  porch,  and  ring  the 
bell.  When  the  lady  of  the  house  opened 


the  door,  they  would  poke  a  microphone 
in  her  face  and  say,  "Good  day  madam, 
you're  on  the  air  from  coast  to  coast."  And 
she  was,  too.  However,  Los  Angeles,  where 
the  show  originated,  is  a  remarkable  town. 
None  of  these  ladies  ever  fainted.  Most  of 
them  weren't  even  particularly  surprised. 
They  would  beam  happily  and  go  into  a 
smooth  ad  lib  conversation  as  though  net- 
work broadcasts  took  place  on  their  fiont 
stoops  every  hour  on  the  hour. 

There  was  one  other  quiz  show  that  I 
came  into  sort  of  glancing  contact  with, 
some  years  ago.  On  "What's  My  Name" 


we've  had  several  different  announcers 
at  various  times.  One  of  them  was  a  bright 
character;  but  he  had  crazy  ideas.  For 
instance,  he  wanted  to  do  a  quiz  show  in 
which  unsuccessful  contestants  would 
have  to  do  all  sorts  of  silly  things.  Of 
course,  as  soon  as  he  told  me  about  it,  I 
said,  "Ralph,  you're  nuts.  You  can't  get 
away  with  asking  people  to  make  fools  of 
themselves.  They  wouldn't  stand  for  it." 

I  often  wonder  what  happened  to  him. 
Nice  fellow.  Name  of  Ralph  Edwards.  He 
wanted  to  call  his  show  "Truth  or  Con- 
sequences." THE  END 


WHAT'S  WRONG  WITH  U.S.  HISTORY 


to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created 
equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights, 
that  among  these  are  Life,  Liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  Happiness,  ..."  was  familiar 
to  every  pupil  of  the  schools.  But  no 
longer. 

We  hear  much  of  the  American  Bill  of 
Rights,  but  how  many  have  ever  read  or 
studied  its  wonderful  guarantees  of  per- 
sonal liberty? 

How  many  today  are  familiar  with 
Patrick  Henry's  "Give  me  liberty  or  give 
me  death"  speech,  and  Lincoln's  "Gettys- 
burg," with  the  circumstances  that 
brought  them  about?  How  many  are 
familiar  with  the  story  of  the  march  of 
the  American  Frontier  to  the  Mississippi 
and  on  to  the  Pacific?  How  many  have 
learned  in  its  revealing  details  the  long 
and  savage  story  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution or  that  of  the  American  Civil  War? 
No.  In  many  of  our  present  school  his- 
tories these  epochal  events  and  the  great 
characters  that  played  their  gallant  parts 
in  them  are  reduced  to  meaningless  sum- 
maries that  no  intelligent  person  would 
ever  read  unless  forced  to  do  so.  Many 
teachers  pass  over  or  dismiss  the  records 
of  the  wars  fought  by  Americans  to  estab- 
lish, to  hold  together  and  to  preserve  this 
nation  as  matters  of  but  trifling  conse- 
quence. How  can  Americans  understand 
or  prize  a  liberty  whose  price  they  do  not 
know? 

A  first  means  to  more  and  better  Amer- 
icanism in  our  schools  is  the  cultivation 
of  an  attitude  which  ranks  America,  its 
history,  its  traditions  and  its  accomplish- 
ments, its  institutions  and  its  ideals,  the 
men  and  women  who  have  made  its  great- 
ness possible,  as  something  worthy  of  deep 
respect;  an  attitude  that  recognizes  the 
superlative  worth  of  American  privileges 
and  advantages,  and  that  cherishes  a  love 
for  things  American. 

One  reason  for  the  lack  of  such  an  atti- 
tude is  that  in  various  lecture  rooms  of 
a  considerable  number  of  our  colleges 
and  universities  where  teachers  are  sup- 
posed to  learn  their  American  history 
preparatory  to  teaching  it,  ideologies 
covertly  hostile  to  the  American  way  of 
life,  the  American  system  of  government 
and  American  conceptions  and  ideals  are 
permitted  to  flourish.  The  dispensers  of 
these  false  and  misleading  ideologies  jus- 
tify their  practices  under  the  specious  plea 
that  any  supervision  of  or  interference 
with  their  methods  violates  the  sacred 
right  to  liberty  of  expression. 

So,  these  college  and  university  in- 


(CoTitinued  /ro7ri  page  16) 
structors  and  professors,  although  in  a 
well  scattered  minority,  and  paid  in  most 
instances  with  money  supplied  by  Amer- 
ican taxpayers,  undermine  faith  in  the 
very  government  which  supports  them. 
A  group  of  these  self-styled  Progressives 
has  gone  so  far  as  to  say,  "Even  the  tax- 
payers have  no  special  claim  on  the 
schools;  they  are  but  the  tax  collectors 
of  society."  In  effect  they  say  to  parents 
and  taxpayers,  "Hands  off;  your  sole 
privilege  is  to  pay  the  bills;  we  will  decide 
what  is  to  be  taught  and  how!" 

"Academic  freedom"  under  such  cir- 
cumstances becomes  a  cloak  for  the  prop- 


WHAT'S  WRONG  WITH  U.S. 
HISTORY 

Herewith  the  solutions  to  the  picture 
quiz  011  page  16,  with  the  specific 
answers  in  blackface.  How  did 
you  do? 

1.  1945.  The  U.S.  Marines  raised  the 
flag  at  Mt.  Suribachi,  Iwo  Jima, 
Feb.  23. 

2.  Union  Pacific  or  Central  Pacific. 

They  linked  the  continent  at 
Promontory  Point,  Utah,  May  10, 
1869. 

3.  Plymouth.  The  drawing  is  from 
a  famous  painting,  "Pilgrims  go- 
ing to  church."  In  the  early  1620's. 

4.  Woodrow  Wilson.  He's  the  blind- 
folded figure  of  the  1917  draft 
lottery,  which  was  repeated  in 
1940. 

5.  Lt.  Col.  George  A.  Custer.  "Cus- 
ter's Last  Stand,"  in  which  he 
and  four  companies  of  the  7th 
Cavalry  were  wiped  out,  was  at 
the  Little  Big  Horn,  June  25, 1876. 

6.  North  Carolina.  The  drawing  de- 
picts the  first  heavier-than-air 
flight,  Dec.  14,  1903  at  Kitty 
Hawk.  Orville  Wright  aboard, 
Wilbur  Wright  running. 

7.  John  Wilkes  Booth  fired  the  gun 
in  Abraham's  Lincoln's  assassi- 
nation, April  14,  1865.  Lincoln 
died  early  next  morning. 

8.  Delaware  River.  The  place  is  now 
called  Washington's  Crossing,  N. 
J.  The  date,  night  of  December 
25-26,  1776. 

9.  Aaron  Burr,  Vice  President. 
Alexander  Hamilton,  former 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and 
victim  in  the  duel  at  Weehaw- 
ken,  N.  J.,  July  11,  1804. 


agation  of  alien  aims  and  isms,  and  for 
the  protection  of  traitors.  The  subtle  poi- 
son which  they  dispense  is  thus  introduced 
into  the  bloodstream  of  American  youth, 
most  of  whom  are  too  immature  to  realize 
what  is  happening. 

When  such  conditions  are  prevalent  it 
is  not  strange  that  conditions  such  as  the 
following  are  found:  Dr.  Henry  Link 
posed  this  question  to  a  cross-section  of 
5,000  people:  "If  the  government  owned 
and  managed  industries  would  you  get 
more  or  less  for  your  money  than  you 
do  now?"  Among  the  general  population 
43  percent  said  they  would  get  as  much 
or  more  under  Government  ownership, 
while  63  percent  of  the  students  polled 
were  of  this  opinion.  This  really  means 
that  they  have  swallowed  the  foreign 
ideology  that  has  made  paupers  and  slaves 
of  half  or  more  of  the  human  race. 

Since  the  bulk  of  our  people  gaui  their 
education  in  our  elementary  and  high 
schools,  the  most  important  question  is 
that  of  how  Americanism  fares  in  these 
schools. 

One  obstacle  that  the  elementary  or  the 
high  school  teacher  is  likely  to  meet  is 
that  of  the  poor  textbook.  Some  of  the 
textbooks  that  the  teacher  of  American 
history  must  use  make  any  effective 
teaching  and  learning  of  the  subject  well 
nigh  impossible.  There  are  some  excellent 
texts  that  give  splendid  service  to  teacher 
and  pupil  alike,  but,  unhappily  these  are 
the  exception.  Most  high  school  textbooks 
on  United  States  history  are  written  by 
college  and  university  professors  so  far 
removed  from  the  direct  experience  of 
teaching  high  school  pupils  that  they  have 
little  conception,  only  slight  comprehen- 
sion of  the  interests,  capacities  and  needs 
of  high  school  pupils 

There  is  a  direct  and  sensible  way  out 
of  this  dilemma.  It  will  necessitate  the 
discarding  of  some  old  and  fixed  ideas, 
and  will  require  the  expenditure  of  some 
money.  What  is  needed  is  a  school  history 
of  the  United  States  in  two  volumes,  a 
volume  for  each  of  the  two  semesters  of 
the  school  year,  each  volume  to  have  a 
compass  of  at  least  six  hundred  pages. 
Such  books  would  have  room  for  the  rich 
and  meaty  story  of  American  history 
The  pupil  would  need  to  master  but  a 
half  dozen  pages  a  day,  and  his  interest 
in  a  live  presentation  would  render  the 
assignment  easy  and  delightful. 

Also,  American  history  should  be  taught 
as  American  history,  and  should  not  per- 
mit any  substitution  therefor.  For  ex- 
ample, a  text  on  "Social  Living"  may  be 


'  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


all  right  in  its  place,  but  it  should  not  be 
permitted  to  masquerade  as  American 
history  or  as  a  subject  to  take  the  place 
of  American  history.  The  importance  of 
American  history  to  every  citizen  en- 
titles it  to  a  prominent  and  individual 
place  in  the  schools.  Colonel  Augustin  G. 
Rudd  in  an  address  quoted  in  full  in  the 
Congressional  Record  cites  an  uprising  of 
the  parents  of  Scarsdale,  N.  Y.,  against  the 
"integrated"  hodge-podge  substituted  for 
American  history.  A  parents"  committee 
said,  "We  recommend  that  the  term  'social 
studies'  be  dropped  completely",  and  "the 
teaching  of  a  continuity  of  undiluted  his- 
tory"; and  again,  "Simple  subjects,  singly 
taught  accumulate  more  ultimate  knowl- 
edge than  any  potpourri  which  is  'pre- 
dominantly social'." 

The  eqtiipment  for  teaching  American 
history  is  seldom  adequate.  There  is  a 
long  accepted  tradition  that  a  textbook  — 
however  sterile  and  uninspiring  —  a  few 
maps,  and  some  references  in  a  public  or 
high  school  library  are  about  all  that  the 
history  department  needs.  In  comparison, 
for  example,  with  the  departments  of 
chemistry,  physics  and  biology  the  sup- 
plies allotted  to  the  history  department 
are  comparatively  insignificant.  The  most 
valuable  and  attractive  references  in 
United  States  history  qnd  biography  — 
many  hundreds  of  them  —  should  have  a 
permanent  place  in  the  history  class- 
room, so  that  they  may  be  available  and 
on  the  spot  as  needed. 

Another  obstacle  in  the  way  of  teaching 
Americanism  in  the  schools  is  that  the 
dehnnker  is  abroad  in  the  land.  He  is  the 
Smart  Aleck  of  the  college  history  depart- 
ment and  of  the  high  school  classroom. 
He  sneers  either  openly  or  covertly  at 
everything  American. 

About  the  only  thing  that  he  seems  to  re- 
member about  George  Washington  is  that 
he  had  false  teeth  and  that  they  did  not  fit; 
to  him  Nathan  Hale  was  an  over  senti- 
mental adolescent  who  stupidly  went  look- 
ing for  trouble  and  so  got  himself  hanged. 

To  this  type  of  mind  the  American 
Revolution  was  only  an  insignificant  up- 
rising of  ignorant  colonials  who  finally 
got  their  way  only  because  England  was 
too  busy  elsewhere  to  give  them  much 
attention;  Lexington,  Bunker  Hill,  King's 
Mountain  and  Saratoga  were  only  inci- 
dents of  guerrilla  warfare  that  would  re- 
ceive no  mention  in  military  reports  of 
the  present;  the  Constitution  was  created 
by  a  group  of  wealthy  aristocrats  to  fur- 
ther their  own  selfish  interests— and  so  on! 

The  debunkers  mislead  by  wrong  em- 
phasis; they  are  enemies  of  America  and 
infect  the  minds  of  young  Americans  with 
the  virus  of  an  evil  attitude.  Most  of  these 
debunkers  are  at  heart  disciples  of  foreign 
isms.  If  Americanism  is  to  have  an  honest 
interpretation  these  debauchers  of  its  his- 
tory and  its  traditions  must  be  barred 
from  its  textbooks  and  its  classrooms. 

American  institutions,  American  enter- 
prise, American  principles,  American 
accomplishments,  American  liberties 
make  up  the  most  magnificent  chapters 
in  the  entire  history  of  the  human  race. 
They  are  worthy  of  knowing  and  of  em- 
phasis. They  have  proved  themselves.  It 
is  the  business  and  the  obligation  of 
American  schools  to  glorify  them.  Those 


who  under  whatever  guise  teach  or  em- 
phasize foreign  ideologies-  the  very  ideas 
and  conditions  that  Americans  left  behind 
them  when  they  came  to  this  Western 
World  in  order  that  they  might  escape  the 
fetters  of  caste,  statism  and  tyranny  —  are 
traitors  to  America.  America  in  the  in- 
terest of  self-preservation  should  rid  the 
schools  of  them.  A  government  that  has 
due  regard  for  the  treasures  that  have 
been  handed  down  to  it  will  not  coddle 
traitors  in  its  classrooms.  And,  if  those  in 
authority  are  slow  to  act,  the  people  who 
have  the  welfare  of  America  at  heart 
should  see  to  it  that  they  or  others  put 
in  their  places  act  not  only  with  prompt- 
ness but  with  finality. 

One  oi  ^bp  reasons  why  Americanism 
is  not  adequately  taught  is  that  many 
teachers  have  embraced  the  cult  of  being, 
oh,  so  judicial-minded'  So,  they  lean  over 
backward  for  fear  that  they  might  praise 
anything  American.  One  of  these  ultra- 
judicial-minded  intellectuals  addressing 
a  state  convention  of  teachers,  said,  "The 
indoctrination  oi  democracy  in  schools 
cannot  be  justified  because  indoctrination 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  a  belief  in  im- 
partiality." So  he  and  the  "open-minded" 
followers  of  his  deluded  philosophy  would 
present  all  of  the  asserted  virtues  of  state 
socialism,  communism  and  fascism,  and 
while  doing  so  damn  American  institu- 
tions, history  and  accomplishments  with 
faint  praise  reluctantly  given  while  giving 
to  anti-American  doctrines  false  an'^ 
vicious  emphasis. 


The  final  great  enemy  of  Americanism 
in  the  history  classrooms  is  that  the  teach- 
ing is  sometimes  static  and  dull,  dry  and 
sapless  as  a  seasoned  corn-husk.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  teachers  of  American  his- 
tory are  able,  patriotic  and  devoted,  but 
in  too  many  classrooms  the  teaching  is 
vapid  and  colorless:  no  heart,  no  enthu- 
siasm, no  concern,  no  life,  no  fire. 

Above  all  else  we  need  a  renaissance 
of  patriotism  in  America's  history 
classrooms,  an  informed  and  aggressive 
patriotism.  We  need  more  militant  Amer- 
icanism. We  need  a  veritable  revolution 
in  the  attitudes  and  methods  of  a  great 
number  of  American  classrooms.  No 
teacher  should  be  employed  in  any  Amer- 
ican history  classroom  who  does  not 
believe  whole-heartedly  and  without  any 
reservation  in  American  free  enterprise, 
in  representative  government,  and  in  the 
preservation  of  the  dignity  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  individual  citizen. 

It  is  a  fact  apparent  to  all  that  malign 
and  evil  forces  have  penetrated  many 
classrooms  and  are  seeking  there  as  else- 
where throughout  the  nation  to  create 
confusion  and  doubt  and  ultimately  to 
destroy  the  liberty  and  independence 
which  is  the  birthright  of  every  American 
boy  and  girl,  man  and  woman.  It  is  high 
time  that  something  very  definite  and 
very  forceful  be  done,  unless  we  are  will- 
ing that  the  United  States  of  America 
shall  be  relegated  to  that  status  where 
the  state  is  everything  and  the  individual 
nothing.  the  fnd 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


HOW  COMMUNISTS  MAKE  STOOGES  OUT  OF  MOVIE  STARS 


average  movie-goer  is  very  much  affected 
by  that  sort  of  propaganda. 

The  communist  infiltration  of  the  in- 
dustry is,  however,  fraught  with  hidden 
dangers  of  a  far  more  serious  nature  than 
the  use  of  the  pictures  as  a  medium  for 
selUng  the  American  people  the  Marxist 
way  of  life.  It  is  an  infiltration  smoothly 
geared  to  the  ov^r-all  scheme  of  revolu- 
tion—a scheme  that  utilizes  the  industry 
as  a  source  of  funds;  as  a  medium  from 
which  the  glamour  of  Hollywood  is  used 
to  bedeck  the  host  of  communist-con- 
trolled organizations  that  flourish  there; 
as  a  base  from  which  large  masses  of 
people  innocently  attracted  by  the  end- 
less and  glittering  meetings  are  subtly  in- 
doctrinated in  the  ways  of  the  Party  and 
religiously  followed  up  with  literature, 
invitations  to  more  meetings,  and  other 
forms  of  recruiting;  and  the  infiltration 
and  control  of  key  unions  of  the  industry 
for  the  purpose  of  fomenting  paralyzing 
strikes  which  can  be  used  not  only  as  a 
powerful  economic  weapon  against  the 
studios  but  also  to  instill  zeal,  the  gesture 
of  revolutionary  power  and  defiance  of 
law,  and  the  symbol  of  the  class  struggle 
into  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Party's  mem- 
bership. 

By  luring  screen  celebrities  into  front 
organizations,  the  astute  handful  of  com- 
munists who  manipulate  the  strings  from 
behind  the  silver  curtain  are  able  to  pack 
auditoriums  with  people  who  listen  to 
the  highly  trained  propagandists  in  order 
to  see  the  star  performers  who  follow  later 
on  the  program.  From  the  many  com- 
munist writers  and  technicians,  who  do- 
nate their  services  for  the  cause,  these 
affairs  are  staged  with  all  the  glamour  of 
a  typical  Hollywood  production.  Many  of 
the  people  who  habitually  throng  to  any 
meeting  where  stars  appear  are  influenced 
by  those  stars  whose  very  appearance  lends 
an  air  of  respectability  to  whatever  phase 
of  the  Party  Line  is  being  advanced. 


(Continued  jroni  page  15) 
Under  the  guise  of  protecting  civil  liber- 
ties, fighting  discrimination  and  uplifting 
the  underprivileged,  thousands  of  dollars 
pour  into  the  coffers  of  the  galaxy  of 
communist-controlled  fronts  — money  for 
which  no  accounting  is  rendered  to  the 
donors. 

Stars  are  easy  to  lure.  They  are  wealthy, 
have  idle  time,  like  publicity  and  are 
prone  to  want  to  aid  the  less  fortunate.  The 
control— the  real  powers  behind  the  scenes 
—takes  advantage  of  these  traits  and  turns 
these  stars  into  sources  of  income  and 
window-dressing. 

When  the  American  Youth  for  Democ- 
racy—that sweet  sounding  organization  of 
"progressive"  youth  —  was  launched  in 
1943,  the  Los  Angeles  citizenry  jammed 
in  to  hear  one  of  the  nation's  most  prom- 
inent crooners,  Frank  Sinatra,  unwittingly 
sing  the  praises  for  this  continuation  of 
the  Young  Communist  League.  To  add  to 
that  window-dressing,  there  were  other 
star  performers— Peggy  Ryan,  Ann  Blythe, 
Barney  Ross  and  Cartoonist  Bill  Mauldin, 

When  the  Hollywood  Writers  Mobiliza- 
tion was  going  full  blast  in  the  same  year, 
even  the  University  of  California  was 
bamboozled  into  joining  with  this  Com- 
munist front  in  the  staging  of  a  Writers 
Congress  on  the  campus  of  the  University 
at  Los  Angeles. 

At  the  seat  of  the  State  University  in 
Berkeley,  another  joint  affair  was  held 
with  the  California  Labor  School,  which 
is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  center  of 
recruiting  and  indoctrination  for  Com- 
munists. That  was  super  window-dressing 
as  the  Hollywood  Writers  Mobilization 
and  the  California  Labor  School  could 
answer  their  critics  by  loftily  declaring 
that  certainly  the  great  State  University 
would  hardly  collaborate  if  there  was 
anything  subversive  about  either  organi- 
zation. The  United  States  Department  of 
Justice  thought  otherwise  and  so  stated 
in  unmistakable  language.   Indeed,  the 


T  CLfiUS 

ATFORNEY 


"Why,  that's  exactly  what  mine  does!" 

A^fERICAN  LEGION  MACAZINE 


California  Labor  School  was  cited  by  the 
U.  S.  Attorney  General  as  subversive  in 
letters  dated  June  1,  1948  and  September 
21,  1948  to  the  Loyalty  Review  Board. 

Communism  first  began  to  work  in  Los 
Angeles  around  1920.  By  1934  the  pene- 
tration of  the  motion  picture  industry  was 
well  under  way.  Most  potent  of  the  early 
fronts  through  which  the  entering  wedge 
was  made  were  the  John  Reed  Club 
(named  in  honor  of  an  early  American 
communist),  the  Pen  and  Hammer  Club 
(comprised  of  the  left-wing  writing  fra- 
ternity) ,  and  a  couple  of  short-lived  pub- 
lications which  carried  the  Party  Line. 

From  this  rather  inauspicious  beginning 
there  stemmed  a  whole  galaxy  of  front 
groups,  some  of  the  more  important  of 
which  were  the  Hollywood  Anti-Nazi 
League,  the  League  for  Peace  and  Democ- 
racy, the  League  Against  War  and  Fascism, 
the  Joint  Anti-Fascist  Refugee  Committee, 
the  League  for  Democratic  Action,  the 
Hollywood  Independent  Citizens  Commit- 
tee of  the  Arts,  Sciences  and  Professions, 
the  Hollywood  Writers  Mobilization,  the 
Freedom  frorn  Fear  Committee  and  a  host 
of  others. 

It  is  most  revealing  to  take  a  look  at  the 
documented  record  of  how  these  left-wing 
stalwarts  affiliated  with  each  other  in  one 
communist  front  organization  after  an- 
other—all ducks  in  a  pond  together.  This 
evidence,  in  ABC  language  and  docu- 
mented, appears  at  the  end  of  this  article. 

When  the  infiltration  got  under  way  in 
1934,  the  first  natural  step  was  to  obtain 
control  of  the  studio  unions  which  could 
most  effectively  paralyze  the  industry. 
Among  those  on  which  the  communists 
concentrated  their  infiltration  were  the 
Screen  Writers  Guild,  the  Screen  Directors 
Guild,  Screen  Office  Employees  Guild,  the 
painters  and  set  decorators,  carpenters  and 
the  teamsters. 

The  practical  effect  of  this  was  made 
obvious  in  1945  when  Herb  Sorrell,  presi- 
dent of  the  Conference  of  Studio  Unions, 
called  a  jurisdictional  strike.  The  matter 
of  jurisdiction  was  between  the  com- 
munist infiltrated  and  the  anti-communist 
vmions. 

Sorrell  selected  Warner  Bros,  for  the 
strike  as  a  matter  of  convenience.  Its 
physical  set-up— one  main  entrance  gate 
as  against  several  entrances  at  most  other 
studios;  its  location  in  Burbank— out  of  the 
congested  district;  and  the  fact  that  that 
studio  at  the  time  was  heavily  infested 
with  communists  allegedly  all  combined  to 
influence  Sorrell. 

Three  thousand  pickets— at  least  one- 
third  communists  and  fellow  travelers  and 
the  others  disgruntled  followers  -  took 
over.  When  the  court  ordered  the  num- 
ber of  pickets  reduced,  the  pickets  took 
a  to-hell-with-the-court  attitude,  shouted 
down  the  sheriff's  deputies  who  read  the 
order,  and  failed  to  comply.  In  defying 
the  court,  the  sheriff,  and  even  the  safety 
of  life  itself,  they  defied  the  United  States, 
its  laws  and  its  form  of  government.  Riot- 
ing resulted. 

I  was  there.  I  saw  police  cars  overturned, 
I  saw  World  War  I  helmets  in  the  hands  of 
strikers  used  as  weapons  to  slap  men 
down.  I  saw  them  thumb  their  noses  at 


42  *  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


officers  of  the  law  carrying  out  court 
orders.  I  saw  fist  fights.  I  saw  seriously 
injured  men  prone  on  the  ground.  I  visited 
the  Emergency  Hospital  where  an  average 
of  fifty  strike-injured  men  were  received 
daily. 

The  studio  was  not  only  paralyzed,  but 
every  person  who  participated  in  the 
picket  line  was  conscious  of  the  defiance 
for  law  and  order  and  the  processes  of 
the  courts.  All  of  which  is  in  perfect  ac- 
cord with  the  teachings  of  the  communist 
party  in  that  "every  strike,"  as  Lenin  put 
it,  "is  a  tiny  revolution."  The  party  lead- 
ers behind  the  scenes  use  these  strikes  to 
further  the  class  struggle  and  imbue  the 
strikers  with  revolutionary  defiance  for 
the  orderly  processes  of  government.  It 
was  a  demonstration  of  power. 

Communism  in  Hollywood  is  directed 
by  Ned  Sparks  (not  the  actor)  and  Doro- 
thy Healy,  the  official  heads  of  the  party's 
Los  Angeles  County  organization  with 
offices  in  Room  525  of  124  West  6th  Street. 
They  in  turn  take  their  orders  from  Wil- 
liam Schneiderman  (naturalized  Russian- 
born  citizen)  who  heads  up  the  party's 
District  13  (made  up  of  California,  Ari- 
zona and  Nevada)  with  headquarters  in 
Room  701  at  942  Market  Street,  San  Fran- 
cisco. Schneiderman,  in  turn,  takes  his 
orders  direct  from  the  national  head- 
quarters in  New  York  City. 

The  Los  Angeles  County  organization 
has  several  branches  and  many  smaller 
working  groups.  That's  where  the  motion 
picture  people  who  are  communists  come 
in  for  their  part.  And  as  for  furnishing 
window-dressing— Hollywood  glamour  in 
the  Hollywood  way— and  dollars,  they've 
done  well.  So  well,  in  fact,  that  Los 
Angeles  County  is  probably  the  party's 
No.  1  source  of  income.  Of  course  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  donors  actually  thought 
the  money  was  going  to  feed  hungry  chil- 
dren or  feeble  old  ladies  is  beside  the 
point.  Once  the  party  gets  the  money  it 
makes  no  accounting  to  anyone. 

Yes,  there  are  suckers.  Lots  of  them.  To 
list  their  names  would  be  like  calling  the 
roll  of  a  great  many  of  the  screen  colony. 
In  this  connection  it  should  be  stated  that 
the  mere  fact  that  a  person's  name  appears 
as  a  member  of  a  communist  front  organi- 
zation by  no  means  signifies  that  he  is  a 
communist  or  even  in  sympathy  with 
communism.  The  very  definition  of  a  com- 
munist front  characterizes  it  as  an  enter- 
prise controlled  by  a  handful  of  com- 
munists for  the  purpose  of  luring  a  great 
many  innocent  people  into  membership. 

Most  of  these  break  away  from  the  or- 
ganization when  its  true  nature  becomes 
apparent.  Others,  including  some  of  the 
biggest  names  in  pictures,  have  such  a 
long  record  of  affiliation  with  one  front 
organization  after  another  that  it  is  pretty 
obvious  where  they  stand. 

But  even  the  innocents  are  at  fault  for 
the  reason  that  good  sense  would  require 
them  to  investigate  organizations  before 
joining  them.  Lacking  such  good  sense, 
they  meanwhile  lure  by  their  very  names 
—names  such  as  Rita  Hayworth,  Olivia 
de  Havilland,  Humphrey  Bogart  and 
Charles  Boyer  —  crowds  of  people  who 
might  be  influenced,  and  dollars  from  the 
crowds  which  believe  "if  it's  okay  with 
Olivia,  it's  okay  with  me." 


It  begins  to  look  as  though  the  industry 
as  a  whole  is  more  anxious  to  prevent 
a  recurrence  of  any  such  unfavorable 
publicity  as  attended  the  Washington 
hearings  than  it  is  in  doing  a  conscientious 
job  of  housecleaning  from  fourteen  years 
of  infiltration.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however, 
that  the  industry  will  profit  by  exposure 
already  made  and  clean  its  own  skirts 
without  the  necessity  of  unfavorable  pub- 
licity. But  if  those  in  control  do  not  see 
fit  to  do  it,  then  official  committees 
charged  with  the  duty  of  exposure  of  sub- 
versive activities  would  be  neglecting 
their  duty  if  they  failed  to  do  everything 


"Oh,  you  poor  dear!  You 
had  to  stand  again  tonight! 

AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


in  their  power  to  remedy  the  situation. 

Now  for  the  evidence  of  how  the  left- 
wing  stalwarts  have  affiliated  with  each 
other  in  one  communist  front  organiza- 
tion after  another. 

If  one  will  study  the  list  of  front  organi- 
zations he  will  note  that  the  same  indi- 
viduals' names  appear  over  and  over 
again.  In  other  words,  these  individuals 
are  not  by  coincidence  joining  just  a  few 
fronts,  but  appear  to  be  deliberately  join- 
ing many  organizations  which  have  been 
officially  proven  to  be  communist  fronts. 
Thus  the  very  fact  that  these  individuals 
are  affiliated  with  so  many  communist 
front  groups,  and  have  been  associated 
together  in  this  type  of  activity  repeatedly 
and  over  long  periods  of  time,  will  help 
the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  some  of  the  indi- 
viduals who  are  prominent  in  the  motion 
picture  industry.  In  each  case,  the  name 
of  the  person  is  first  listed  together  with 
various  front  organizations  of  which  he 
is  or  has  been  a  member.  Each  of  these 
organizations,  officially  declared  to  be  a 
communist  front  by  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  Un-American  Activities,  is 
followed  by  the  page  number  of  Appendix 
IX  of  that  committee  wherein  the  docu- 
mented evidence  is  recorded.  Then  fol- 
low the  names  of  other  individuals  affili- 


ated with  the  same  organizations.  It  will 
be  noted  that  the  same  names  appear  over 
and  over  again.  Of  course  many  others 
have  belonged  to  such  organizations,  but 
the  names  herein  used  are  deliberately 
selected  to  show  clearly  how  the  same 
tightly  knit  group  sticks  together  through 
a  series  of  typical  communist  organiza- 
tions. Here  goes: 

Each  name  is  identified  when  first 
mentioned. 

Ring  Lardner,  Jr.  (screen  writer) 

ARTISTS  FRONT  TO  WIN  THE  WAR 

(577):  John  Howard  Lawson  (writer),  Paul 
Robeson  (singer),  Albert  Maltz  (writer), 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart  (writer),  Alvah 
Bessie  (writer),  Guy  Endore  (writer),  J. 
Edward  Bromberg  (actor),  Larry  Adler 
(harmonica  player),  Rex  Ingram  (actor). 
Gene  Kelly  (actor-dancer). 

Citizens  Committee  To  Free  Earl  Browder 
(622) :  Paul  Robeson,  Albert  Maltz,  Leo  Gal- 
lagher (attorney  selected  to  go  to  Berlin  to 
defend  Georgi  Dimitrov,  who  became  the 
head  of  the  Comintern  in  1935;  Vito  Marcan- 
tonio  (Congressman  from  New  York), 
Dashiell  Hammett  (writer  of  three  radio 
programs- The  Fat  Man,  The  Thin  Man  and 
The  Falcon). 

Joint  Anti-Fascist  Refugee  Committee 
(941) :  John  Howard  Lawson,  Donald  Ogden 
Stewart,  Carey  McWilliams  (lawyer),  Vito 
Marcantonio,  Lillian  Hellman  (drama  writer 
and  producer).  Gale  Sondergaard  (actress 
and  wife  of  Herbert  Biberman),  Orson 
Welles  (producer,  director,  writer,  actor) . 

Signers  of  a  letter  in  New  Masses  defend- 
ing American  Communists  (1356) :  Paul 
Robeson,  Lillian  Hellman,  Dashiell  Ham- 
mett, John  Huston  (producer,  director, 
writer),  Lewis  Milestone  (director),  J.  Ed- 
ward Bromberg,  Frank  Tuttle  (director). 

Signers  of  an  open  letter  in  defense  of  the 
Moscow  purge  trials  (1379) :  Donald  Ogden 
Stewart,  Carey  McWilliams,  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Louis  Budenz  (an  admitted  Com- 
munist who  has  since  broken  with  the  party, 
joined  the  Catholic  Church  and  is  now 
teaching  at  Fordham  University),  Albert 
Maltz,  Lillian  Hellman,  Samuel  Ornitz  (di- 
rector, writer) . 

Veterans  of  the  Abraham  Lincoln  Brigade 
(1651):  Paul  Robeson,  Vito  Marcantonio, 
Albert  Maltz,  Dashiell  Hammett. 

Reichstag  Fire  Trial  Anniversary  Com- 
mittee (1532):  Earl  Browder  (former  head 
of  the  Communists  in  America),  Donald 
Ogden  Stewart,  Guy  Endore,  Leo  Gallagher, 
Larry  Adler,  Lillian  Hellman. 

Samuel  Ornitz  (director,  writer) 

AMERICAN  LEAGUE  FOR  PEACE  AND 
DEMOCRACY  (397):  Earl  Browder,  Donald 
Ogden  Stewart,  Robert  W.  Kenny  (at  that 
time  Attorney  General  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia), Paul  Robeson. 

National  Council  of  American-Soviet 
Friendship  (487) :  John  Howard  Lawson, 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Frank  Tuttle. 

Signers  of  the  Statement  Defending  the 
Communist  Party  of  the  United  States 
(649) :  Aubrey  Grostman  (just  named  as  the 
Pacific  Coast  head  of  the  Civil  Rights  Con- 
gress and  educational  director  of  the  Com- 
munist Party  of  San  Francisco),  Albert 
Maltz,  Paul  Robeson,  Dashiell  Hammett. 

Congress  of  American  Revolutionary 
Writers  (657):  Earl  Browder,  Guy  Endore. 
John  Howard  Lawson. 

Hollywood  Writers  Mobilization  (786) : 
John  Howard  Lawson,  Thomas  Mann  (au- 
thor), Carey  McWilliams.  Hanns  Eisler 
(musician  now  deported  and  who  had  a 
branch  of  the  Communist  party  in  Los  An- 
geles named  for  him),  Frank  Tuttle.  Ring 


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


REPORT 


STUPENDOUS 


1^^ 


THE  KEW  MOVIES 


Bji  R.  WILSOIV  BROWI\ 


MR.  BELVEDERE  GOES  TO 
COLLEGE 

A  20th  Century-Fox  picture  with.  Clifton 
Webb,  Shirley  Temple,  Tom  Drake,  Alan 
Young  and  Taylor  Holmes.  A  sequel  to 
Sitting  Pretty. 

A  new  form  of  comedy  was  developed 
last  year  in  Sitting  Pretty  in  which  the 
character  Lynn  Belvedere,  played  by 
Clifton  Webb,  was  introduced.  Now  comes 


Clifton  Webb  as  Lynn  Belvedere 
works  his  way  through  college 


the  second  in  what  promises  to  be  a  series. 
In  this.  Belvedere  enrolls  in  college  to  do 
four  years'  work  in  one  (which  is  routine 
procedure  for  one  of  his  genius)  and 
despite  the  fact  that  his  prior  formal  edu- 
cation had  been  limited  to  two  revolting 
weeks  in  kindergarten.  His  only  interest 
in  college  is  to  get  a  degree  to  become 
eligible  for  a  novel  award.  His  funds  tied 
up,  he  works  part-time  as  a  waiter  in  a 
sorority  house.  His  whizzing  through 
classes,  serving  tables,  life  in  a  dormitory, 
and  being  the  victim  of  sophomore  hazing 
furnish  ample  comedy  situations.  While 
others  do  good  acting,  it's  Webb's  picture 
from  start  to  finish.  Seldom  does  a  review- 
er get  excited  over  a  film.  In  this  case, 
however,  superlatives  are  in  order  and 
20th  Century-Fox  is  to  be  congratulated 
for  entertainment  over  and  above  the 
ordinary. 

THE  SECRET  GARDEN 

An  M-G-M  picture  with  Margaret 
O'Brien,  Dean  Stockwell,  Herbert  Mar- 
shall, Gladys  Cooper  and  introducing 
Brian  Roper.  Based  upon  a  Frances  Hodg- 
son Burnett  novel  oj  the  same  name. 

The  Secret  Garden,  one  of  the  world's 
most  beloved  classics,  brings  together 
three  lovable  child  actors.  Margaret 
O'Brien  has  the  role  of  Mary  Lennox— un- 
loved, bitter  and  spoiled.  Dean  Stockwell 
plays  Colin  Craven— the  boy  who  believes 
he  will  grow  up  to  be  a  cripple  unless 
death  comes  first.  And  for  the  first  time 
you  will  see  Brian  Roper,  a  freckle-faced 


English  lad,  who  portrays  Dickon  —  the 
country  youngster  with  enough  love  in 
his  heart  to  change  the  world.  Dickon's 
attitude  and  the  unfolding  of  a  garden 
give  to  the  others  the  contentment,  se- 
curity and  love  which  make  up  the  birth- 
right of  every  child,  and  which  even 
changes  Colin's  embittered  hunchback 
father  (Herbert  Marshall)  into  a  man  of 
understanding.  The  children  do  the  kind  of 
acting  that  tugs  at  the  heart.  Young  Roper, 
hitherto  unknown,  becomes  the  kind  of 
star  movie-goers  will  demand  to  see  again 
and  again.  Most  unusual  part  of  the  pic- 
ture is  the  development  of  the  neglected 
garden.  While  the  film  is  in  black  and 
white,  the  garden  scene  is  in  color  and 
the  audience  will  actually  see  the  growth 
of  the  garden  from  the  small  shoots  of 
green  grass  to  the  final  glory  of  nature's 
varied  buds.  It  is  a  trick  of  photography 
that  is  commendable. 

THE  BARKLEYS  OF  BROADWAY 

An  M-G-M  picture  in  Technicolor  with 
Fred  Astaire,  Ginger  Rogers,  Oscar  Levant 
and  Billie  Burke. 

For  the  first  time  in  nine  years,  the 
singing-dancing  team  of  Astaire  and 
Rogers  is  back  again  for  its  tenth  picture 
together.  It's  the  best  dancing  picture  in 
nine  years.  In  addition  to  teamwork, 
Astaire  is  tops  in  his  solo.  Pianist  Levant 
adds  to  the  musical  worth  of  the  film  with 
his  playing.  Along  with  Billie  Burke's 
comedy,  all  combine  to  furnish  the  best 
musical  comedy  in  many  years.  This  pic- 
ture presents  Astaire  and  Rogers  as  a 


Together-r-r  again  are  those  braw 
bricht  stars,  Rogers  and  Astaire 


married  couple  working  together  perfect- 
ly on  the  stage  but  continually  fighting 
and  making  up  in  private  life.  While  the 
story  is  good  and  logical  (something  usu- 
ally not  the  case  in  musicals),  it's  the 
dancing  and  the  music  that  make  this 
picture  one  every  movie  fan  should  see. 
It's  the  first  Astaire-Rogers  picture  in 
color,  and  that  helps  greatly. 


Lardner,  Jr.,  Dalton  Trumbo  (writer),  Guy 
Endore,  Kenneth  Macgowan  (formerly  a 
director,  now  on  the  staff  of  the  University 
of  California  at  Los  Angeles) ,  James  Cagney 
(actor) .  Marc  Connelly  (author) 

International  Labor  Defense  (831):  Wil- 
liam Foster  (present  head  of  the  Communist 
Party  in  the  U.  S.),  Earl  Browder,  Leo  Gal- 
lagher, Harry  Bridges  (head  of  the  Inter- 
national Longshoremen  and  Warehousemen 
Union) ,  Vito  Marcantonio. 

League  of  American  Writers  (968»:  Earl 
Browder,    John    Howard    Lawson.  Alvah 


□ 


"Posed  for  any  good 
cartoons  lately?" 

AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


Bessie,  Carey  McWilliams,  Albert  Maltz, 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Ring  Lardner,  Jr., 
Lillian  Hellman,  Dashiell  Hammett. 

National  Committee  for  the  Defense  of 
Political  Prisoners  (1177):  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Guy  Endore,  Marc  Connelly. 

National  Committee  for  People's  Rights 
(1179) :  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Guy  Endore, 
J.  Edward  Bromberg,  Marc  Connelly,  Lillian 
Hellman. 

Signers  of  a  letter  defending  the  Moscow 
purge  trials  (1379) :  Ring  Lardner,  Jr..  Carey 
McWilliams,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Louis 
Budenz,  Albert  Maltz. 

Veterans  of  the  Abraham  Lincoln  Brigade 
(1651) :  Paul  Robeson,  Vito  Marcantonio.  Al- 
bert Maltz,  Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Dashiell 
Hammett. 

Herbert  Biberman  (producer,  director, 
tvriter) 

AMERICAN    PEACE  MOBILIZATION 

(432):  Paul  Robeson,  Vito  Marcantonio, 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Carey  McWilliams. 
Albert  Maltz,  John  Howard  Lawson, 
Dashiell  Hammett. 

Conference  on  Constitutional  Liberties  in 
America  (653) :  Carey  McWilliams,  Albert 
Maltz,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Dashiell 
Hammett. 

Hollywood  Anti-Nazi  League  (784): 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fredric  March  (actors),  Robert  W.  Kenny. 
Frank  Tuttle,  Lewis  Milestone. 

National  Federation  for  Constitutional 
Liberties  (1228) :  Carey  McWilliams,  Albert 
Maltz,  Vito  Marcantonio,  Donald  Ogden 
Stewart,  Alvah  Bessie,  Leo  Gallagher,  Paul 
Robeson,  Dashiell  Hammett. 

(Continued  on  next  page) 


44  *  The  Ameiican  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


John  Howard  Lawson  (writer) 

AMERICAN  YOUTH  FOR  DEMOCRACY 

(566):  Other  sponsors  —  Robert  W.  Kenny, 
Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Albert  Maltz,  Samuel 
Ornitz,  Dalton  Trumbo,  Carey  McWilliams, 
Herb  Sorrell  (President  of  the  Conference 
of  Studio  Unions) . 

Harry  Bridges  Defense  Committee  (599) : 
Paul  Robeson,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart, 
Dashiell  Hammett,  Lillian  Hellman,  Orson 
Welles,  Herb  Sorrell. 

Hollywood  Democratic  Committee  (781): 
Frank  Tuttle,  Herb  Sorrell,  Kenneth  Mac- 
gowan,  Herbert  Biberman,  Donald  Ogden 
Stewart,  Mrs.  Fredric  March,  Robert  W. 
Kenny,  Lewis  Milestone. 

American  Writers  Congress  (974) :  Alvah 
Bessie,  Carey  McWilliams,  Albert  Maltz, 
Samuel  Ornitz,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Earl 
Browder,  Dashiell  Hammett,  Lillian  Hell- 
man. 

League  of  American  Writers  (968) :  Earl 
Browder,  Alvah  Bessie,  Albert  Maltz,  Carey 
McWilliams,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Ring 
Lardner,  Jr.,  Lillian  Hellman,  Dashiell 
Hammett. 

Joint  Anti-Fascist  Refugee  Committee 
(941) :  Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Vito  Marcantonio, 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Paul  Robeson,  Carey 
McWilliams,  Orson  Welles,  Lillian  Hellman, 
Dalton  Trumbo. 

Motion  Picture  Artists  Committee  (783): 
Herbert  Biberman,  Robert  W.  Kenny, 
Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Marc  Connelly, 
Gene  Kelly,  Lewis  Milestone,  Herb  Sorrell, 
Frank  Tuttle. 

Hollywood  Writers  Mobilization  (786) : 
Thomas  Mann,  Hanns  Eisler,  Carey  McWil- 
liams, Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Frank  Tuttle,  Guy 
Endore,  Marc  Connelly,  James  Cagney. 

Donald  Ogden  Stewart  (writer) 

SPONSORS  OF  ACTORS  LABORA- 
TORY THEATRE  (1948  CALIF.,  REPORT 
P.  97):  Alvah  Bessie,  Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Al- 


N?  60622 


I  have  received 
Membership  Book 


(SIgnatur*) 


State .^ff^^. .. .  District./.^.. 
Comty^. : .  City .  Z^^,  .' 
Section 

Be  sure  fo  sign  and  return  to  the 
membership  director. 


J.  Clark  Sellers,  handwriting  expert,  tes- 
tified before  the  California  Committee  on 
Un-American  Activities  that  in  his  opinion 
the  signature  on  communist  membership 
card  No.  60622,  reproduced  above,  is  that  of 
Herb  Sorrell,  whose  activities  are  described 
in  this  article.  On  the  witness  stand,  Sorrell 
stated  that  his  mother's  name  was  Stewart, 
the  name  used  on  this  card.  Note  how  the 
"Stewart"  is  written  —  how  the  first  "t"  is 
written  over  an  "o"  as  if  by  force  of  habit 
Sorrell  had  started  to  write  "So"  and  then 
changed  it  to  "St." 


AdrertiBrment 


From  where  I  sit 
jiyJoe  Marsh 


We  Both  Won 
This  One 

Blew  my  top  the  other  morning  when 
I  discovered  a  shirt  Fd  put  on  had 
two  buttons  missing. 

"Joe  "  the  missus  says,  "do  you  ever 
read  what  you  write?  For  a  man  who 
writes  newspaper  pieces  all  about  tol- 
erance, you  sometimes  show  a  lot  of 
race  prejudice." 

"Race  prejudice!''  I  hollers.  "No 
one  can  accuse  me  of  that.'*  "/  mean 
prejudice  against  the  entire  human 
race"  she  interrupts  with  a  smile. 
*'Why  get  mad  at  the  world  over  two 
little  buttons?"  That  took  the  wind 
out  of  me. 

From  where  I  sit  (I  told  the  missus 
that  evening),  we  sometimes  get  too 
worked  up  over  little  things  .  .  .  little 
differences  of  opinion  or  taste.  One 
person  prefers  beer  or  ale,  another 
prefers  cider  or  lemonade.  But  why 
criticize  the  other  fellow  just  because 
his  tastes  aren't  the  same  as  ours? 
"That  sounds  more  like  you,  Joe," 
she  laughs,  snipping  off  a  thread.  (It 
so  happens  she  was  sewing  on  buttons.) 


Copyright,  1949,  United  States  Brewers  Foundation 

The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


bert  Maltz,  Dalton  Trumbo,  Marc  Connelly, 
Gene  Kelly,  Lewis  Milestone,  Samuel  Or- 
nitz.  Gale  Sondergaard. 

American  League  for  Peace  and  Democ- 
racy (397) :  Earl  Browder,  Robert  W.  Kenny, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Ornitz,  Vito  Marcan- 
tonio,  Lillian  Hellman. 

National  Council  of  American-Soviet 
Friendship  (487):  John  Howard  Lawson, 
Frank  Tuttle. 

League  of  American  Writers  (968) :  Earl 
Browder,  John  Howard  Lawson,  Alvah 
Bessie,  Carey  McWilliams,  Albert  Maltz, 
Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  Dashiell  Hammett,  Lillian 
Hellman. 

National  Committee  for  People's  Rights 
(1179):  Guy  Endore,  J.  Edward  Bromberg, 
Marc  Connelly,  Lillian  Hellman,  Samuel 
Ornitz. 

Signers  of  statement  defending  the  Mos- 
cow purge  trials  (1379  and  1617) :  Ring  Lard- 
ner, Jr.,  Carey  McWilliams,  Louis  Budenz, 
John  Howard  Lawson,  Albert  Maltz,  Lil- 
lian Hellman,  Samuel  Ornitz,  Dashiell  Ham- 
mett. 

American  Committee  to  Save  Refugees 
(362) :  Herbert  Biberman,  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Albert  Maltz,  Thomas  Mann, 
Dashiell  Hammett,  Lillian  Hellman,  Orson 
Welles. 

Motion  Picture  Artists  Committee  (1138) : 
Herbert  Biberman,  Robert  W.  Kenny,  Marc 
Connelly,  Gene  Kelly,  Lewis  Milestone, 
Herb  Sorrell,  Frank  Tuttle. 

Artists  Front  To  Win  The  War  (577) :  Paul 
Robeson,  Frank  Tuttle,  Alvah  Bessie,  Guy 
Endore,  Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Albert  Maltz,  Hanns  Eisler,  Lil- 
lian Hellman,  Gene  Kelly,  Larry  Adler,  J. 
Edward  Bromberg,  Dalton  Trumbo. 

Joint  Anti-Fascist  Refugee  Committee 
(942) :   Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,   John  Howard 


Lawson,  Vito  Marcantonio,  Carey  McWil- 
liams, Paul  Robeson,  Orson  Welles,  Lillian 
Hellman,  Dalton  Trumbo. 

Reichstag  Fire  Trial  Anniversary  Com- 
mittee (1532) :  Earl  Browder,  Guy  Endore, 
Leo  Gallagher,  Lillian  Hellman,  Larry 
Adler. 

Herb  Sorrell  (President  of  the  Confer- 
ence of  Studio  Unions) 

AMERICAN  YOUTH  FOE  DEMOCRACY 
SPONSORS  (1948  CALIF.  REPORT  P.  183): 

Robert  W.  Kenny,  Ring  Lardner,  Jr.,  John 
Howard  Lawson,  Albert  Maltz,  Dalton 
Trumbo,  Carey  McWilliams. 

Hollywood  Democratic  Committee  (781) : 
John  Howard  Lawson,  Frank  Tuttle,  Ken- 
neth Macgowan,  Herbert  Biberman,  Donald 
Ogden  Stewart,  Mrs.  Fredric  March,  Lewis 
Milestone,  Robert  W.  Kenny. 

Schneiderman-Darcy  Defense  Committee 
(1563) :  (Schneiderman  is  the  Communist 
Party  head  for  California,  Arizona  and 
Nevada) :  Leo  Gallagher,  Carey  McWilliams. 

Harry  Bridges  Defense  Committee  (599) : 
Paul  Robeson,  Donald  Ogden  Stewart,  Lil- 
lian Hellman,  Orson  Welles,  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Dashiell  Hammett. 

Civil  Rights  Congress  (1948  Calif,  report 
p.  202):  Carey  McWilliams,  Paul  Robeson, 
Vito  Marcantonio,  Robert  W.  Kenny, 
Thomas  Mann. 

Hollywood  Independent  Citizens  Commit- 
tee of  the  Arts,  Sciences  and  Professions 
(1948  Calif,  report  p.  253):  John  Howard 
Lawson,  Robert  W.  Kenny,  Dalton  Trumbo, 
Orson  Welles,  Larry  Adler,  Marc  Connelly, 
Thomas  Mann,  Lewis  Milestone,  Frank 
Tuttle. 

And  they  are  still  at  it.  As  late  as  August 


25,  1948,  the  following,  calling  themselves 
the  Cultural  Freedom  Committee  of  the 
Hollywood  Arts,  Sciences  and  Professions 
Council,  sent  a  telegram  to  the  Los 
Angeles  Board  of  Education  protesting 
with  vigor  the  action  of  the  board  in  re- 
quiring loyalty  oaths  from  the  teachers 
and  other  employees  of  the  Los  Angeles 
public  school  system.  The  telegram  was 
signed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Ornitz, 


"Me?" 


AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


Dalton  Trumbo,  Carey  McWilliams,  Ring 
Lardner,  Jr.,  Robert  W.  Kenny,  Herbert 
Biberman  and  John  Howard  Lawson.  The 
day  following,  Thomas  Mann  added  his 
protest  in  a  separate  telegram. 

To  put  it  another  way,  we  find  Donald 
Ogden  Stewart  listed  22  times,  John 
Howard  Lawson  21  times,  Albert  Maltz 
and  Carey  McWilliams  20  times,  and  Lil- 
lian Hellman  19  times.  Runners-up  in  the 


group  are: 

Ring  Lardner,  Jr.  16 

Dashiell  Hammett  16 

Paul  Robeson  15 

Frank  Tuttle  12 

Robert  W.  Kenny  12 

Guy  Endore  10 

Marc  Connelly  9 

Dalton  Trumbo  9 

Samuel  Ornitz  9 

Lewis  Milestone  8 

Alvah  Bessie  8 

Orson  Welles  7 

Herbert  Biberman        "  7 

Thomas  Mann  6 

Leo  Gallagher  6 

J.  Edward  Bromberg  5 

Larry  Adler  5 

Gene  Kelly  5 

Hanns  Eisler  3 

Kenneth  Macgowan  3 
Florence  Eldridge 

(Mrs.  Fredric  March)  3 

Mrs.  Samuel  Ornitz  2 

James  Cagney  2 
Gale  Sondergaard 

(Mrs.  Herbert  Biberman)  2 

John  Huston  1 

Rex  Ingram  1 

Fredric  March  1 


THE  END 


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i^g  •  The  American  Legiorj  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


A  GHOST  TOWN  COMES  TO  LIFE 

(Continued  from  page  28) 


as  a  pair  of  miner's  wool  longhandles. 

The  old  false-fronted  stores  bordering 
lower  main  street  hide  no  highpriced 
tourist  traps.  Though  the  visitor  may  shop 
the  time-used  stores,  he  may  not  buy.  The 
few  places  he  may  plunk  his  silver  dollar 
—  the  mahogany  bar  of  the  Bale  O'  Hay 
saloon,  the  Wells-Fargo  Coffee  House,  the 
lovely  Fairweather  Inn  —  maintain  stand- 
ard or  substandard  prices. 

So  long  as  Charlie  Bovey's  around  there 
is  hope  it  will  remain  this  way,  because 
fortunately,  Charlie  is  a  hobbyist,  not  a 
huckster. 

Charlie's  main  interest  is  old  buildings. 
He  collects  them  like  others  collect  bottle- 
caps  and  butterflies.  He  is  sentimental  and 
kind  to  them  as  most  men  are  to  their 
aging  mothers.  He  lavishes  money  on 
them  in  a  way  that  makes  his  friends 
shudder,  and  tenderly  nurses  them  back 
to  health  with  his  own  hands. 

Visitors  usually  find  him  toiling  like  a 
hired  hand  somewhere  about  his  clap- 
board dependents.  In  fact,  he  is  often 
taken  for  an  odd-jobs  man. 

For  example,  you  may  be  looking  for 
Charlie.  You  have  inquired  at  the  Fair- 
weather  Inn  somebody  there  usually 
knows  where  he  is,  or  should  be.  You  have 
been  referred  to,  consecutively,  a  lumber 
pile,  a  broken  doorsash  on  the  Wells- 
Fargo  office,  and  the  city  dump  —  where 
Charlie  rummages  for  Virginiacitiana. 

Having  exhausted  these  sources,  you 
spy  what  you  take  to  be  an  impoverished 
prospector  sweeping  the  boardwalk  in 
front  of  the  general  store. 

"Where  may  I  find  Mr.  Bovey?"  you 
ask. 

The  prospector,  a  tall,  goodlooking  chap 
in  his  early  forties,  straightens  up  and  a 
pair  of  abstracted  blue  eyes  regard  you  as 
if  you  had  just  dropped  from  Mars. 

"Oh,  I'm  Bovey,"  he  says,  seeming  to 
match  your  suprise. 

Actually,  Charlie  does  not  always  go 


around  looking  like  the  tail  end  of  de- 
pression; but  few  people  meeting  him  in 
Virginia  City  would  recognize  him  in 
Great  Falls,  dressed  up  in  a  tailored  suit 
and  a  late  model  convertible.  These  he 
dons  mainly  when  he  goes  to  Great  Falls 
to  oversee  his  wheat,  sheep,  and  cattle 
ranches  or  to  Helena  as  a  Montana  state 
senator.  For  the  most  part,  he  is  too  busy 
to  bother  with  sartorial  details,  and  be- 
sides, his  work  keeps  his  clothes  dirty. 

In  other  ways,  too,  Charlie  is  the  anti- 
thesis of  what  most  people  expect. 

He  is  six-foot-one,  and  built  like  a  col- 
lege football  tackle  very  slightly  out  of 
condition,  is  conservatively  handsome  and 
reserved  to  the  impression  of  shyness.  His 
easy-going  facade  barely  disguises  a  per- 
petual tensive  restlessness  and  drive.  Even 
when  he's  standing  still  he  seems  to  be 
going  some  place.  Most  people  are  sur- 
prised he  is  so  young. 

"Why  we  thought  you'd  be  —  ."  "Why," 
Charlie  asks  plaintively,  "do  they  all  ex- 
pect me  to  be  as  old  as  Boot  Hill?" 

For  years,  however,  as  founder  and 
president  of  the  Montana  Historic  Land- 
mark Society,  Charlie,  a  native  Minneso- 
tan,  scion  of  a  prominent  Minneapolis 
family,  has  been  ranging  the  state  of  Mon- 
tana, quietly  restoring  senile-decaying 
landmarks  for  Montanans  to  be  proud  of. 
Virginia  City  is  his  magnum  opus. 

Like  Bill  Fairweather,  who  in  his  flight 
from  hostile  Crow  Indians,  rested  beside 
the  Alder  Gulch  creek  and  thereupon 
stumbled  upon  a  $150,000,000  bonanza, 
Charlie  rediscovered  Virginia  City  by 
figuratively  stubbing  a  toe  upon  it. 

Charlie  first  came  to  Virginia  City  in 
the  fall  of  1946  with  no  idea  of  becoming 
a  godfather. 

Representing  the  Montana  Historic 
Landmark  Society  he  was  looking  for  a 
single  representative  landmark  to  re- 
store —  possibly  the  Montana  Post,  first 
newspaper  in  Montana.  "Nobody  thought 


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CITY   STATE  

Size  and  width  of  shoe  


The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  •  47 


to  inform  me,"  he  explains  ruefully,  "that 
darned  near  every  building  was  a  land- 
mark." 

Still  standing  was  the  original  Wells- 
Fargo  Express  office,  the  big  red  livery 
barn  which  served  as  first  Montana  Vigi- 
lante headquarters,  the  Bale  O'  Hay  saloon, 
a  general  store,  dress  shop,  and  other 
venerable  relics.  These  owed  their  exist- 
ence to  their  originally  good  lumber, 
handwrought  nails,  and  the  townspeople's 
fortunate  lassitude  toward  tearing  them 
down.  Charlie  wouldn't  have  been  nearly 
so  impressed  by  the  Hanging  Gardens  of 
Babylon. 

"One  of  the  most  interesting,"  Charlie 
relates,  "was  a  tumbledown  livery  stable, 
once  the  old  Virginia  Hotel.  It  was  there 
that  Virginia  Slade,  after  her  heroic  but 
fruitless  ride  to  save  her  husband  from 
the  Vigilantes,  wept  over  his  body.  I  re- 
membered reading  about  it  in  Mark 
Twain's  Roughing  It,  as  a  kid." 

Another  tragedy,  impending  on  this 
very  spot,  was  destined  to  influence 
Charlie's  life. 

As  a  sideline  to  preserving  landmarks, 
Charlie  had,  some  time  previous,  created 
an  "Old  Town"  — a  replica  frontier  village 
based  on  Henry  Ford's  "Greenfield  Vil- 
lage" idea  — on  the  Great  Falls,  Montana, 
fairgrounds.  From  time  to  time  he  still 
added  to  it. 

He  was  secretly  longing  to  buy  the  ro- 
mantic old  hotel  and  transport  it  back  to 
Old  Town;  but,  he  reasoned  sentimentally, 
the  owner  naturally  would  refuse  to  part 
with  it,  so  he  never  inquired.  This  he  has 
never  quite  got  over.  On  his  next  trip  to 
Virginia  City,  he  found  the  building  split 
into  kindling. 

"That's  when  I  decided,"  says  Charlie, 
still  mourning,  "that  if  something  wasn't 
done,  there'd  be  no  more  old  buildings.  I 
wouldn't  sleep  well  the  rest  of  my  life." 

Anxiously,  Charlie  inquired  if  any  of 
the  remaining  buildings  were  for  sale.  It 
seems  that  the  owners  were  looking  for 
just  such  a  sucker.  Charlie  bought  them 
at  his  price. 


Simultaneous  with  his  purchases,  his 
ranch  life,  to  all  practical  purposes,  ended. 
Although  he  has  kept  his  ranches  and 
maintained  his  home  in  Great  Falls,  most 
of  his  time  he  spends  in  Virginia  City,  hap- 
pily tangled  up  in  working  sketches  for 
the  restoration  and  carpenters'  parapher- 
nalia. Of  his  carpenterial  skill  he  is  mod- 
est. "The  other  carpenters  tolerate  me  — 
but  I'm  not  very  good." 

With  his  purchases  he  also  became  the 
most  controversial  figure  to  ride  into  town 
since  the  townfolks  split  over  whether  or 
not  to  hang  "Cap"  Slade.  Slade,  inciden- 
tally, was  found  guilty  of  a  poker  raise  of 
"One  Frenchman's  ear!"— which  he  actu- 
ally had  in  his  vest  pocket.  (Hanged 
March  10,  1864.) 

Charlie  was  regarded  variously  as  a 
gold  brick  salesman,  a  discoverer  of  a 
motherlode  under  main  street,  and  an  ec- 
centric of  some  sort— harmless  but  crazy. 
Who  else  would  buy  up  those  old  "eye- 
sores"? 

Unfortunately  this  latter  opinion  was 
shared  by  Sue  Bovey,  Charlie's  chic,  at- 
tractive wife,  daughter  of  a  Great  Falls 
Bank  president.  It  took  all  of  Charlie's 
charm  and  salesmanship,  plus  a  recital 
of  wedding  vows  before  she  gave  up 
and  pitched  in  as  a  researcher  and  head 
decorator. 

The  first  few  months  of  the  restoration 
had  their  hardships.  Several  of  the  more 
tottering  buildings  had  to  be  jacked  up 
and  re-roofed  in  sub-zero  weather.  Tim- 
ber and  supplies  were  hauled  over  ice  and 
perilous  mountain  roads.  Building  mate- 
rials were  scarce,  but  a  lumber  mill  on  one 
of  Charlie's  ranches  helped  out. 

First  major  project,  construction  of  a 
badly  needed  hostelry,  materialized  in  the 
charming  Fairweather  Inn.  Designed  by 
Mrs.  Bovey  after  the  famous  Goodrich 
House  in  Bannack,  Montana,  it  is  as  old 
fashioned  and  quaint  as  a  bustle  and  none- 
theless attractive  for  modern  plumbing. 

It  was  the  ill-fated  Goodrich  House, 
whose  destruction  for  its  lumber  Charlie 
witnessed  some  years  before,  that  jarred 


him  into  the  formation  of  the  Historic 
Landmark  Society  and  his  unusual  hobby. 

The  Fairweather  Inn  was  soon  followed 
by  his  Wells-Fargo  Coffee  House  which 
serves  daily  menus  that  haven't  been  seen 
since  the  days  of  Buffalo  Bill  —  venison, 
elk,  and  —  yes  —  buff alo.  For  the  parched, 
the  gilded,  garish  Bale  O'  Hay  saloon  was 
reopened  along  with  the  old  Gilbert 
Brewery  which  now  serves  beer  amid  the 
malty  atmosphere  of  its  original  vats. 

Gradually,  Virginia  City  1864  began  to 
shape  up.  Meanwhile,  Charlie  had  a  stroke 
of  luck. 

One  day  while  he  was  sweeping  out  the 
residue  of  eighty  years  from  a  stable,  a 
nice  little  lady  offered  to  help.  Since  then, 
Zena  Hoff,  a  five-foot-one  ball  of  energy 
and  information,  has  been  a  Bovey  lieu- 
tenant. "As  a  scrounger,"  says  Charlie 
admiringly,  "she  would  turn  an  entire  di- 
vision of  GIs  green  with  envy."  Scroung- 
ing is  an  important  spare  time  diversion. 
She  and  Charlie  and  Mrs.  Bovey  rake  the 
coimtryside,  picking  up  such  early  Ameri- 
cana as  stagecoaches  and  highbutton  shoes 
for  the  general  store.  Many  more  articles 
of  value  have  come  as  gifts  of  interested 
local  people  and  appreciative  visitors. 

As  travelers,  many  drawn  by  Yellow- 
stone National  Park  and  the  Idaho-Mon- 
tana sports  region,  heard  about  the  res- 
toration of  this  dime-novel  town,  they 
began  taking  the  liver-jarring  15-mile 
side  trip  from  Ennis  where  the  road 
branches  off  from  Montana  State  High- 
way No.  1. 

They  found  the  tree-shaded  main  street 
hemmed  by  false-fronted  stores  stocked 
with  merchandise  of  the  past  century  and 
staffed  by  display  window  mannequins 
Charlie  refers  to  as  the  "wax  brigade." 

An  even  more  remarkable  thing  they 
encountered  was  Charlie's  honor  system. 
They  were  invited  to  go  in  and  freely 
wander  about  these  stores— with  rare  ex- 
ceptions where  the  contents  were  irre- 
placeable. As  almost  everything  is,  it  is 
a  close  line  to  draw.  The  general  store,  for 
example,  is  a  gold  mine  of  knick-knacks 
of  another  era— a  major  portion  extremely 
pocketable. 

"I  don't  know  of  anything  that's  been 
stolen  yet,"  is  Charlie's  defense  against 
lock  and  key.  Actually,  the  few  articles 
that  have  disappeared  are  extremely  dis- 
proportionate to  the  number  of  visitors  — 
a  highly  complimentary  testimonial  to  the 
visiting  public. 

The  exceptions  are  guarded  by  small 
barriers  that  a  good  sized  cat  could  easily 
upset.  One  is  the  dress  shop  with  old  fab- 
rics so  fragile  that  they  could  be  torn 
even  by  considerate  hands.  Another  is  the 
Wells-Fargo  Express  office  with  its 
crumbling  records  and  correspondence. 

However,  no  one  is  excluded  even  from 
these  sanctums.  Ask  for  Charlie,  Zena 
Hoff,  or  Dean  Hauseman,  custodian  of  the 
Gilbert  Brewery.  The  latter  two,  native 
Virginians,  are  unofficial  guides.  They'll 
show  you  through  and,  gratis,  toss  in  more 
Virginia  City  lore. 

Charlie  came  to  Montana  as  an  eighteen- 
year-old  to  work  in  a  flour  mill  in  which 
his  father  had  an  interest,  after  father,  a 
director  of  General  Mills  Corporation, 
despaired  of  making  a  scholar  of  him. 
( Continued  on  page  50) 


4g  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


POWER-MAKER 


When,  for  the  first  time  in  two  years, 
the  lights  went  on  again  in  the  big  Bra- 
zilian city  of  Belem  a  few  weeks  ago,  there 
were  many  flowery  Latin-American  trib- 
utes to  the  young  North  American  who 
made  it  possible.  He  was  ex-GI  John  W. 
Foster,  who  had  been  an  Iowa  farm  boy 
before  he  went  into  the  Army. 

Belem,  northernmost  and  third  largest 
city  in  Brazil,  had  been  in  a  complete 
blackout  for  more  than  two  years  because 
of  an  obsolete  and  unworkable  electric 
and  power  plant  built  in  1905  by  a  British 
company.  For  that  matter,  the  entire  State 
of  Para,  of  which  Belem  is  the  capital, 
was  virtually  in  the  dark. 

Foster,  who  had  organized  his  firm  with 
a  group  of  ex-GIs  shortly  after  being 
mustered  out  of  service,  tracked  this  lead 
down  and  convinced  the  progressive- 
minded  Governor  of  Para  to  give  him  the 
contract  to  rebuild  completely  the  electric 
and  power  plant,  as  well  as  the  distribu- 
tion system.  The  contract  involved  more 
than  four  million  dollars,  and  that  was 
the  catch.  The  State  of  Para  didn't  have 
the  money.  Neither  did  Foster,  whose 
original  financing  came  from  convincing 
his  old  Army  colleague,  Capt.  Roy  Rich- 
ards, a  Georgia  banker  and  businessman 
and  now  chairman  of  the  board  of  the 
company,  to  invest  a  small  working  capi- 
tal of  several  thousand  dollars. 


So  Foster,  unwilling  to  let  this  chance  of 
a  lifetime  slip  away  from  him,  instigated 
State  and  Federal  legislative  action  to 
enable  the  Federal  Government  to  allo- 
cate funds  to  the  state  for  this  purpose  — 
a  case  unique  in  Brazilian  history. 

Thus,  Jack  Foster  was  able  to  raise  the 
money  to  pay  for  his  own  work,  and  for 
more  than  a  year  he  and  his  engineers 
worked  feverishly,  tearing  out  entire  sec- 
tions of  the  antiquated  British-built 
power  plant  to  make  room  for  new  foun- 
dations for  the  huge  new  generating  units 
brought  in  from  the  United  States.  The 
tremendous  job  of  rehabilitating  the  en- 
tire distribution  system,  and  converting 
it  from  single-phase  to  three-phase,  in- 
volved wiring  the  entire  city,  lighting  the 
streets,  and  carrying  the  precious  juice 
into  thousands  of  homes  that  had  been 
without  light. 

As  important  as  it  is  for  the  almost  one 
million  people  of  Para,  it  is  of  even  greater 
importance  to  John  W.  Foster.  The  con- 
tract has  catapulted  him  and  his  firm  to 
the  fore  of  international  engineering  and 
construction  companies,  and  skyrocketed 
his  American  Pacific  Industrial  Corp., 
with  headquarters  at  70  E.  45th  St.,  New 
York  City,  from  a  shoestring  venture  to  a 
solid  and  promising  multi-million  dollar 
business. 

Jack  Yarmove 


WAXING  FAMOUS 


Thomas  Galati  and  James  A.  Johnson 
are  two  young  ex-GI's  who  are  "waxing" 
famous.  They  own  and  operate  The  Candle 
Studio  at  2343  Salzedo  Avenue,  Coral 
Gables,  Florida,  where  they  design  and 
handmake  decorative  candles  for  table 
centerpieces,  wall  sconces,  mantels  and 
other  uses. 

Johnson  and  Galati  opened  their  unique 
shop  last  December,  and  in  three  months 
realized  their  initial  $1,000  investment 
plus  another  thousand  in  profits.  Besides 
their  retail  shop,  they  have  added  a 
wholesale  business.  Their  candles  are  in 
gift  shops  as  far  north  as  New  York. 

Theirs  is  a  business  in  which  few  people 
can  compete  because  the  art  of  making 
candles  by  hand  has  just  about  disap- 
peared from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is 
known  today  by  less  than  a  dozen  people 
in  this  country.  Galati  learned  the  ancient 
craft  from  an  Italian  family  who  had  kept 
secret  their  own  candlemaking  process, 
passing  it  down  through  generations. 

Johnson  and  Galati  decided  to  go  into 
business  together  after  their  respective 
discharges  from  the  armed  forces  —  John- 
son from  the  Navy;  Galati  from  the  Army. 
They  based  their  partnership  on  Galati's 


knowledge  of  candlemaking  and  Johnson's 
business  experience  before  the  war. 

Besides  designing  candles  to  match  any 
interior  decoration  scheme  or  for  special 
events  like  Christmas,  Easter,  bridal 
parties  or  St.  Patrick's  Day  celebrations. 
The  Candle  Studio  has  on  hand  15  stand- 
ard designs  ranging  from  $1  to  $10  a  pair. 

Galati  and  Johnson  do  all  the  work  of 
sculpting  the  colored  waxes,  dipping  and 
finishing  the  tapers.  In  addition,  they  mix 
their  own  waxes  and  colors. 

An  average  pair  of  candles  requires  an 
hour  to  complete,  but  more  elaborate  ones 
take  anywhere  from  a  day  to  several 
weeks.  An  original  Galati  design  is  "Rose," 
a  candle  with  a  large  rose  tip  in  a  green, 
stem- like  base,  scented  with  rose  oils. 
This  one  takes  four  hours  to  make  for 
each  rose  petal  must  harden  before  an- 
other can  be  added.  Another  is  "Grecian 
Pillars,"  candles  18  inches  tall,  with  scal- 
loped bases.  Another  specialty  of  The 
Candle  Studio  is  a  table  centerpiece  —  a 
candle  resting  in  a  water  lily  base,  de- 
signed to  fit  into  a  flower  bowl. 

With  such  a  remarkable  start,  Galati 
and  Johnson  look  to  triple  their  business 
in  the  next  three  months,    by  p.  g.  martin 


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The  American  Legion  Magazine  *  May,  1949  •  ^0 


(Continued  from  page  48) 
"The  only  book  I  ever  read  cover-to- 
cover,"  interpolates  Charlie,  "was  The 
Specialist  by  Chic  Sale.  I  think  maybe  it 
influenced  me."  To  complete  the  story  in 
Charlie's  words,  "I  came  West  with  only 
my  clothes,  a  large  canvas  tent,  and  ex- 
plicit instructions  to  forget  I  was  the 
Boss's  son.  The  tent  was  father's  idea  of 
how  not  to  be  highbrow.  I  never  learned 
to  pitch  the  darned  thing." 

As  sweeper  ("the  dirtiest  job  I  ever 
hope  to  have")  to  oiler  ("my  first  and 
only  promotion")  Charlie  was  ingrained 
with  the  workingman's  viewpoint.  And 
this  does  have  a  connection  with  Virginia 
City. 

Even  today,  Charlie  cannot  bear  to  lay 
off  an  employee.  For  instance,  when  he 
sold  one  of  his  sheep  ranches,  he  trans- 
ported the  personnel  bodily  to  Virginia 
City.  The  result  was  a  mass  misplacement 
of  talent. 

As  an  employee  tells,  "If  all  our  quali- 
fications had  been  listed,  it  wouldn't  have 
required  enough  ink  to  dot  an  'i'." 

To  this  date,  if  you  ask  the  Bale  O'  Hay 
bartender  for  a  "Pink  Lady",  you'll  prob- 
ably get  a  "ditchwater  highball"— bourbon 


and  water.  But  the  informality  about  the 
whole  thing  makes  it  seem  more  like  home 
than  any  place  you've  been  since  you 
left  it. 

Some  of  Charlie's  once-greatest  skep- 
tics, now  hearing  the  tourist  dollar  clink 
in  cash  registers  all  over  town— the  upper 
end  of  main  street  has  a  few  operating 
businesses  housed  in  some  of  the  more 
time-resistant  buildings  —  are  suggesting 
that  he  is  a  shrewder  businessman  than 
godfather. 

Actually,  no  one  is  more  surprised  than 
Charlie  that  his  old  buildings  are  on  the 
verge  of  making  the  city  and  him  a  profit. 
Indeed,  Charlie  broods  continually  over 
Virginia  City's  future. 

"We've  got  to  keep  it  from  getting  com- 
mercial," he  often  expounds  to  his  staff. 
"If  we  don't  keep  it  under  control,  we'll 
be  just  another  honky-tonk  town."  His 
perpetual  horror  is  a  large  hotel  or  night- 
spot of  stucco  and  glass  brick. 

Recently,  Charlie  bought  the  site  of 
Nevada  City,  Virginia's  sister  diggin'  a 
mile  and  a  half  away,  just  in  time  to 
rescue  it  from  a  group  who  had  just  such 
commercialization  in  mind. 

Charlie  still  shudders  and  says,  "Man, 


that  was  close!  Glass,  plaster,  neon 
signs—." 

What  Charlie  now  plans  is  to  rebuild 
Nevada  City  and  run  stagecoaches  be- 
tween the  two.  There  are  nine  or  ten 
fairly  serviceable  ones  in  Virginia  at  pres- 
ent. And  recently  a  Texas  attorney, 
impressed  by  his  visit,  wrote  Charlie 
suggesting  a  summer  school  in  placer 
mining  for  tired  business  men.  With  plenty 
of  old  time  prospectors  on  hand  for 
teachers  and  the  famous  U.S.  Grand  and 
Easton-Pacific  mines  operating  again,  the 
idea  looks  like  a  natural. 

As  Charlie  says,  the  history  of  Virginia 
City  has  taken  a  curious  twist.  Take  the 
boys  on  Boot  Hill  —  Haze  Lyons,  "Club- 
foot George"  Lane,  Boone  Helm,  and  Jack 
Gallagher.  With  Henry  Pummer  they 
helped  murder  120  men  in  a  year  and 
made  the  stagecoach  routes  into  hell  trails. 

"You  know,  there  must  have  been  some 
good  in  them,  though,"  says  Charlie 
philosophically,  as  another  carload  of 
sightseers  sets  off  toward  Boot  Hill. 
"Look  what  they're  doing  for  Virginia 
City."  Then  he  adds  musingly,  "If  they 
knew  it,  I  bet  they'd  roll  over  in  their 
graves."  ,  the  end 


newcomer,  "I'll  race  you  both  to  see  who 
perforates  first." 

My  wife  was  expecting  our  first  baby 
and  I  was  expecting  to  lose  my  job.  It  was 
an  accident  I  met  this  Doc.  I  was  in- 
vesting in  my  teeth  that  day.  For  six 
months  we  had  practically  been  support- 
ing a  dentist  of  our  own,  and  for  three 
days  I  had  been  walking  around  with  my 
stomach  in  a  black  sling,  so  to  speak.  This 
young  physician  had  just  moved  into  one 
of  the  back  rooms  in  the  dentist's  suite. 
I  was  in  such  pain  that  I  permitted  my 
wife  to  push  me  into  his  littered  office. 
The  dentist  had  miscalculated,  something 


MY  TWO  DOLLAR  ULCER  CURE 

( Continued  from  page  21 ) 

he  rarely  did,  and  we  had  almost  five 
dollars  left. 

I  wish  you  could  have  seen  that  young 
fellow's  face  when  I  said,  "Doctor,  I'm 
having  an  acute  ulcer  attack.  Can  you 
write  me  a  prescription  for  something  to 
lay  me  out  for  about  twenty  hours,  end 
to  end?"  I  thought  for  a  minute  he  would 
pick  up  his  shiny  new  stethoscope  and 
move  right  out  again. 

You  see,  he  had  spent  almost  his  entire 
interneship  in  Los  Angeles  General  Hos- 
pital's ulcer  ward.  L.  A.  General  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  biggest  hospital  in  the 
world  and  it's  right  in  the  ulcer  capital 


of  the  United  States.  Ulcer  patients  who 
would  be  listed  as  critical,  and  made  the 
subjects  of  hourly  bulletins  elsewhere,  are 
thrown  out  bodily  at  L.  A.  General  and 
told  to  go  home  and  take  a  spoonful  of 
bicarbonate.  They  claim  to  have  X-Rays 
of  ulcers  that  have  ulcers. 

The  young  Doc  looked  haggard, 
trapped.  But  there  was  his  brand-new 
fluoroscope  and  his  jar  of  barium  meal, 
and  there  I  stood.  He  combined  me  and 
the  barium  and  the  fluoroscope  and  said, 
"Yes,  you've  got  ulcers  all  right.  Two  of 
them,  possibly  a  third.  Tsk,  tsk."  Well,  I 
didn't  mind  buying  this  information  again. 

Then  he  sat  down  and  refused  to  write 
a  narcotics  prescription.  Instead,  he  gave 
me  four  rules,  each  of  which  was  "med- 
ically sound"  by  itself.  Combined  into  a 
"cure"  they  were  practically  subversive, 
he  warned.  The  deans  in  the  ulcer  ward 
shook  their  headc  as  they  whetted  their 
knives.  Too  radical  —  required  too  much 
reliance  upon  the  patient! 

"However,"  he  said,  "my  own  father's 
ulcers  disappeared  after  he  followed  these 
four  rules  a  few  weeks.  Understand,  I  do 
not  say  they  were  cured  —  I  merely  say 
they  disappeared  for  some  reason.  I  am 
not  prescribing  or  advising  because  I  will 
never  take  an  ulcer  case.  I  do  not  believe 
in  the  orthodox  method  of  treatment  and 
I  will  not  use  a  method  that  is  not  ap- 
proved by  the  profession,  even  if  it  is  my 
own.  I  will  merely  relate  what  I  told  my 
father. 

"Most  doctors  say  that  nerves  are  the 
chief  contributing  cause  in  ulcer  cases. 
This  is  not  just  an  untruth  —  it  is  one  of 
those  frustrating  half-truths  which  betray 
us  into  quitting  the  search  for  the  real 
thing.  As  a  preliminary  conclusion  in  re- 
search it  is  a  distinct  advancement  over 
the  theory  that  an  ulcer  is  an  evil  spirit 
in  the  belly.  As  a  tenet  of  modem  prac- 


"Think  hard,  Gramps.  In  all  them  Indian  fights  are  you  sure 
you  weren't  defeated  just  once?" 

AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


50  *  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


tice  it  is  just  as  primitive,  because  stand- 
ing by  itself  it  cannot  produce  a  single 
cure  or  prevent  a  single  ulcer. 

"Nerves  are  the  only  cause  of  ulcers. 
Get  that— the  only  cause.  You  could  drink 
lye  and  eat  razor  blades,  and  while  they 
might  destroy  your  stomach  they  would 
not  produce  the  inflammation  we  call  an 
ulcer. 

"You  may  think  the  distinction  between 


WALLY 


Were  "  T 
Here  ir  j 


(From  May,  1934  A.L.M.) 


'chief  and  'only'  is  a  minor  matter.  But 
the  former  permits  a  physician  to  treat 
symptoms  while  declaring  he  can't  find 
the  cause.  The  latter  restricts  him  rigidly 
to  treating  the  cause,  whether  he  likes  it 
or  not.  The  minute  you  touch  that  stomach 
you  are  treating  a  symptom.  If  we  had 
stopped  at  this  stage  in  our  attitude  toward 
smallpox,  today  we  would  still  be  pre- 
scribing salve  for  the  pustules  instead  of 
inoculating  against  the  bacillus.  Now  do 
you  understand  why  I  won't  take  an  ulcer 
case? 

"Nerves  are  the  only  cause  of  ulcers. 
Nerves  are  the  only  cause  of  ulcers.  Is  that 
clear?" 

(This  was  eight  years  ago,  remember, 
before  we  knew  about  the  surgery  by 
which  the  Vagus  nerve  is  severed.  This  is 
the  scoundrelly  nerve  which  turns  on  the 
hydrochloric  acid  in  your  stomach  when- 
ever you  get  upset  or  excited  or  angered. 
Too  many  turns  of  that  valve  and  you've 
got  too  much  acid,  which  eats  a  hole  in 
the  mucous  membrane  of  your  stomach. 
That's  what  an  ulcer  is.  Clipping  the 
Vagus  nerve  plugs  your  hydrochloric 
pipeline.  You  have  to  take  your  hydro- 
chloric acid  with  a  spoon  after  this,  for 


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The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


a  certain  amount  is  essential  to  digestion. 
But  it  beats  having  an  ulcer.) 

The  haggard  young  doctor  continued: 

"Obviously  I  cannot  treat  your  nerves, 
either,  so  I  can't  take  you  as  a  nerve  case 
instead  of  an  ulcer  case.  You're  worried 
abount  the  coming  baby,  losing  your  job, 
money,  similar  things.  What  can  I  do 
about  any  of  them? 

"However,  a  man  can  worry  decently, 
without  having  a  fit.  Or  if  he's  going  to 
have  one,  he  shouldn't  try  to  digest  his 
food  at  the  same  time.  You  don't  go  swim- 
ming after  a  full  meal,  do  you.  You  should 
postpone  worrying  in  the  same  manner. 
That  is  quite  impossible,  of  course.  I  am 
merely  illustrating  a  principle,  to  reduce 
this  problem  to  its  simplest  terms.  We  can 
make  it  simple  and  logical  once  we  start 
our  thinking  with  the  truth  that  nerves 
are  the  only  cause  of  ulcers. 

"Since  we  can't  eliminate  the  cause  of 
worry,  the  only  thing  we  can  do— the  only 
ethical  thing  a  doctor  should  be  permitted 
to  do— is  to  reduce  its  destructive  effect 
on  the  stomach.  Understand,  I  am  not  giv- 
ing you  medical  advice.  I  am  merely  re- 
peating what  I  told  my  father,  in  an  effort 
to  secure  this  result: 

"Rule  One.  Most  doctors  will  promptly 
tell  you  to  swear  off  drinking.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  a  great  many  ulcer  cases 
are  also  alcoholics,  and  the  profession  has 
not  been  diligent  in  asking  why.  Most 
doctors  will  tell  you  that  alcoholic  bev- 
erages destroy  the  stomach  tissues,  caus- 
ing ulcers;  yet  at  the  same  time  the  same 
doctors  use  the  same  alcohol  to  preserve 
the  same  stomach  tissues  in  their  labora- 
tory bottles.  This  incongruity  alone  should 
have  pointed  unmistakably  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  nerves  that  caused  the 
ulcers  had  also  made  the  man  rely  on 
drink! 

"Alcohol  is  a  sedative  and  is  often  pre- 
scribed as  such.  Most  beverage  alcohol  is 
drunk  as  a  sedative.  The  cocktail  hour  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  a  sedative  hour, 
used  to  relax  nervous  tension  after  a 
strenuous  day. 


GEI¥ERAL  MISCHIEF 


"So  —  get  yourself  a  bottle  of  good  port 
wine,  grocery  store  grade.  About  an  hour 
before  every  meal,  if  possible,  drink  two 
ounces  of  it.  If  this  causes  too  much  dis- 
tress, reduce  the  dosage  or  dilute  it  with 
warm  water. 

"Then  lie  down  and  sleep  until  meal- 
time. Not  until  ten  minutes  before  meal- 
time—you don't  want  to  wake  up.  Go  to 
the  table  sleepy  and  sluggish  and  com- 
pletely relaxed.  If  you  can't  sleep  at  first, 
lie  down  anyway.  If  you  can't  do  it  be- 
fore every  meal,  make  evening  dinner 
your  'big'  meal  and  do  it  then.  If  you 
can't  sleep  a  whole  hour  some  night,  sleep 
a  half  hour,  ten  minutes— three.  Come  to 
the  table  late,  if  necessary.  If  you  can't  lie 
down  where  it's  quiet,  lie  down  where  it's 
noisy.  Turn  the  radio  up  so  it  drowns  out 
the  other  noise,  and  you'll  quickly  find 
this  is  an  excellent  substitute  for  quiet. 

"You'll  get  the  habit  quickly,  so  don't 
worry  if  you  lie  there  tense  and  unhappy 
the  first  few  times  you  try  it.  You  may 
think  the  experiment  is  a  failure,  but  try 
it  for  a  week  and  then  go  back  to  your  old 
habit.  You'll  see  how  much  you  have  al- 
ready come  to  depend  on  your  little  sip  of 
port,  your  nap  before  dinner. 

"For  the  other  two  meals,  at  least  take 
your  port.  In  the  morning,  take  it  in  half 
a  glass  of  hot  milk— let  the  cool  port  re- 
duce the  temperature  of  the  milk.  If  you 
eat  a  rush  lunch  in  a  restaurant,  it  is  all 
the  more  important  to  have  your  port  first. 
Even  if  you  miss  the  nap,  the  rest,  the 
port  will  work  while  you  eat  and  digest, 
at  least  a  little.  And  every  little  bit  counts. 

"Don't  worry  about  getting  a  'wine 
habit.'  Once  you've  got  a  whole  stomach 
again  you  won't  want  to  waste  that  hour 
before  dinner,  you'll  be  so  full  of  vigor. 
You'll  cut  out  the  wine  because  you'll  find 
it  makes  you  sleepy  when  you  want  to 
play  croquet  or  mow  the  lawn. 

"Rule  Two.  Most  doctors  will  say  to 
avoid  meat,  gravies,  coarse  foods  like  bran, 
highly  spiced  foods,  pickles,  sauces  —  in 
fact,  all  of  the  flavorful  things  that  make 
eating  a  pleasure.  Well,  you  know  what 


By  S.  B.  STEVERTS 


AMERICAN  LEOION  MAGAZINE 


agrees  with  you  and  what  doesn't.  Use 
your  own  judgment.  If  you  can  handle  a 
pork  chop  now  and  then  without  too  much 
distress— why,  have  a  pork  chop!  Don't  go 
on  too  many  such  sprees,  but  let  yourself 
enjoy  a  meal  now  and  then.  Be  reckless! 
Get  out  of  the  rut  of  fear  and  worry.  Try 
to  make  meal  time  a  pleasure  again,  amd 
not  an  ordeal. 

"Boiled  cabbage  is  just  about  the  worst 
thing  in  the  world  for  ulcers,  most  doc- 
tors will  tell  you.  My  father  did  without 
it  for  two  years,  and  he  loved  cabbage. 
Much  to  his  surprise,  he  found  he  got 
along  very  well  with  boiled  cabbage  when 
he  nerved  himself  to  try  it  once  more. 
Pretty  soon  he  was  eating  ham  with  it. 
Only  an  ulcer  patient  can  know  how  much 
pleasure  that  gave,  and  how  much  good 
it  did  him.  Little  by  little  he  conquered 
other  foods  as  his  ulcers  shrank,  so  that 
from  first  to  last  it  was  easier,  rather  than 
harder,  to  follow  this  rule. 

"It's  your  stomach,  your  ulcer.  You 
know  best  how  to  get  along  with  it.  That's 
all  there  is  to  it. 

"Rule  Three.  Most  doctors  will  tell  you 
to  eat  a  light  meal,  chew  it  slowly,  and  be 
cheerful  at  the  table.  Eat  lightly,  yes,  but 
don't  try  to  make  your  little  dab  last  by 
chewing  each  bite  to  a  slimy  pulp.  I 
wouldn't  blame  your  stomach  for  revolt- 
ing! And  don't  be  cheerful  at  the  table, 
either.  Take  a  newspaper  or  book  to  the 
table  and  read  as  you  munch  your  little 
meal.  This  is  a  particularly  important  rule 
for  those  hurried  meals  downtown.  It  is 
more  important  for  the  reading  to  be  light 
than  for  the  meal  to  be  light.  Don't  pay 
any  attention  to  people  who  think  you  are 
rude.  Ignore  everyone,  until  you  reach  the 
point  where  you  can  carry  your  end  of 
a  conversation  without  the  ulcer  patient's 
usual  excitement.  Keep  your  mind  off 
your  food  and  your  stomach,  and  read, 
read,  read! 

"Rule  Four.  About  thirty  minutes  be- 
fore bedtime,  take  another  ounce  of  port 
in  warm  water.  Just  before  you  go  to  bed, 
eat  lightly  again,  something  you  feel  you 
can  digest  with  a  minimum  of  distress. 
Don't  worry  about  it  waking  you  in  the 
middle  of  the  night— it  will  anyway!  It's 
not  the  food  in  your  stomach,  but  the 
emptiness  after  the  food  digests,  that 
causes  that  horrible  early  morning  pain. 
Food  coats  your  ulcers  and  dilutes  your 
stomach  juices  which,  you  know,  are 
strong  enough  to  dissolve  everything  you 
eat. 

"Most  patients,  when  they  wake  up  in 
the  wee,  small  hours,  all  doubled  up  in 
agony,  get  up  and  drink  a  glass  of  warm 
milk  and  go  back  to  bed,  making  a  deter- 
mined effort  to  catch  a  few  more  hours  of 
that  wonderful,  healing  sleep.  This  is  ex- 
actly the  wrong  thing  to  do  and  the  proof 
of  it  is  that  very  few  times  do  you  ever 
get  back  to  sleep. 

"Since  you  know  you're  not  going  to 
sleep,  write  those  hours  off  as  a  dead  loss. 
When  you  wake  up  with  that  pain,  get  up 
and  heat  your  glass  of  milk— only  pour  an 
oimce  or  two  of  that  good  port  wine  into 
it.  Don't  go  back  to  bed  and  wrestle  with 
sleep  then.  Stay  up  and  read  for  an  hour- 
detective  stories,  world  events,  anything 
that  doesn't  involve  too  much  cerebration. 
Don't  go  back  to  bed  until  you're  good 


52  *  "^^^  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


and  sleepy.  The  first  night,  this  won't 
occur  until  almost  daylight— but  it  would 
be  the  same  if  you  had  gone  back  to  bed 
and  tossed,  and  turned,  and  cursed.  The 
next  time,  you'll  find  yourself  getting 
sleepy  a  little  earlier.  First  thing  you 
know  you'll  be  nodding  in  an  hour— then 
forty-five  minutes  .  .  .  you'll  have  trouble 
keeping  your  mind  on  the  book  from  the 
moment  that  port  and  warm  milk  begin  to 
take  hold.   And  then  one  night  you'll 


"I'm  curious  to  see  just  irhaJ  yoii  U 
use  for  the  next  payment." 


AMERICAN    LEeiON  MAGAZINE 


awaken  and  look  at  the  clock  and  dis- 
cover it's  so  close  to  breakfast  time  it's 
not  worth  going  back  to  bed. 

"When  that  time  comes,  your  ulcer  is 
licked. 

"Don't  let  failure,  pain,  mistakes  dis- 
courage you.  Don't  look  ahead,  as  you 
start,  to  a  long,  gruelling  period,  as  you 
would  look  forward  to  another  strict  diet. 
Look  at  them  carefully  and  you'll  dis- 
cover that  all  of  these  rules  are  designed 
to  make  life  easier,  not  harder.  They're 
things  you'd  really  like  to  do— like  sitting 
up  alone  in  the  middle  of  the  night  with 
a  good  murder  mystery,  only  the  de- 
mands of  the  old  daily  grind  never  per- 
mitted it.  When  your  ulcer  is  healed  you're 
going  to  miss  that. 

"That'll  be  two  dollars,  please.  Not  for 
medical  advice,  but  for  diagnosing  your 
case  as  ulcers." 

I  paid  him  and  have  never  seen  him 
again.  It  took  me  just  sixty  days  to  get  rid 
of  my  ulcers,  and  I  started  following  his 
rules  mostly  because  I  thought  it  was 
worth  it,  just  to  get  a  soothing  shot  of  port 
even  if  it  killed  me.  Sixty  days!  The  last 
acute  attack  came  the  night  my  baby  was 
born.  Some  neighbors  dropped  in  after  I 
got  back  from  the  hospital,  and  there  was 
a  bottle,  and  hamburgers  with  onions,  and 
I  had  the  misery  by  morning.  But  not  a 
bad  misery!  I'd  take  it  any  day,  and  throw 
in  a  second  baseman  and  two  good  relief 
pitchers,  rather  than  the  old,  excruciating 
agony  caused  by  the  so-called  "bland 
diet." 

The  first  night  I  lay  down,  wrapped 
around  two  ounces  of  grocery  store  port, 
I  lay  stiff  as  a  ramrod  for  sixty  of  the 
longest  minutes  in  history.  The  second 
evening  was  worse,  or  so  I  thought. 
(Continued  on  page  56) 

The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


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AMERICAN    MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

AN  AMERICAN  fresh-water  fish,  and  no  record  breaker,  taken  in  Moon  Lake,  Mississippi  by  Dwight  Franklin,  1931.  (Alligator  gar) 


Monsters  in  U.S.  Rivers  and  Lakes 


By  BARNEY  PETERS 


KEVSTONK    VIEW  COMPANY 

WELL  SHORT  of  the  inland  record  is 
this  llVi-foot,  826-pound  Oregon  stur- 
geon shown  beside  captor,  L.  J.  Farley 


WHAT  IS  the  biggest  fish  in  American 
fresh  water?  Is  it  the  muskellunge, 
thought  by  many  to  be  America's  largest 
fresh  water  gavie  fish?  People  in  certain 
localities  would  roar  with  laughter  at 
any  such  claim.  Let  us  discount  the  vague 
but  not  improbable  account  of  a  muskie 
caught  "about  1914"  by  an  unnamed  fish- 
erman in  Intermediate  Lake,  Michigan, 
which  is  said  to  have  weighed  110  pounds 
and  measured  7  feet  four  inches.  The  big- 
gest authenticated  muskie  ever  taken 
with  rod  and  reel  was  caught  in  Favil 
Lake,  Wisconsin,  on  May  17,  1947.  It 
weighed  64  pounds  eight  ounces.  Record 
lake  trout  run  a  little  heavier. 

Biggest  authenticated  lake  trout 
weighed  68  V2  pounds,  and  was  taken  in 
Lake  Superior  off  Munising,  Michigan,  in 
November  1937  by  Fred  Matson  of  De- 
troit. A  lake  trout  said  to  have  weighed  88 
pounds  was  taken  at  Grand  Haven  on 
Lake  Michigan  in  1864. 

Folks  along  the  Mississippi  and  its  con- 
necting rivers  and  lakes  know  of  catfish 
much  larger.  But  is  the  catfish  the  biggest 
of  all  American  fresh  water  fish?  I  have 
heard  many  tales  of  blue  catfish  coming 
to  150  pounds,  even  200.  However,  in  a 
six  months'  search  for  an  authentic  rec- 
ord the  best  we  could  dig  up  was  a  110 
pound  flat-head  catfish,  found  in  Lake 
Lawtonka,  Comanche  County,  Oklahoma 
when  the  lake  was  drained  "about  1938." 
Cats  probably  run  larger,  but  authentic 
records  are  hard  to  find. 

Even  if  catfish  do  run  somewhat  larger, 
are  they  the  biggest  American  fresh  wa- 
ter fish?  Remember,  we  don't  care  if  our 
monster  is  a  game  fish  or  not,  nor  if  he 
was  taken  with  rod  and  reel  or  any  other 
way.  We  just  want  to  know  the  biggest 


fish  that  may  lurk  in  fresh  water  some- 
where in  America. 

Ever  hear  of  the  paddlefish?  Could  it  be 
the  biggest?  Harry  Tennant,  taxidermist 
of  Arnolds  Park,  Iowa,  mounted  a  paddle- 
fish taken  from  West  Okoboji  Lake 
weighing  "nearly  200  pounds,"  according 
to  Mr.  E.  B.  Speaker  of  the  Iowa  State 
Conservation  Commission.  That  puts  the 
sluggish  paddlefish  ahead  of  the  largest 
known  chinook  salmon  (which  lives  only 
part  of  its  life  in  fresh  water).  A  chinook 
taken  in  a  fish  trap  at  Point  Colpoys, 
Alaska,  weighed  126  pounds  and  was  53 
inches  long.  It  is  now  mounted  and  on 
display  at  Petersburg,  Alaska.  The  rod- 
and-reel  chinook  record  is  83  pounds. 

At  this  point  in  our  story  residents  of 
the  delta  and  bayou  country  are  laughing 
up  their  sleeves.  They  know  the  enor- 
mous alligator  gar,  which  lives  entirely  in 
fresh  water,  and  is  sometimes  landed  with 
the  help  of  horses.  This  voracious  fish 
with  fearsome  rows  of  sharp  teeth  has 
been  known  to  come  in  very  large  sizes, 
and  bite  people.  E.  W.  Gudger,  fish  ex- 
pert of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  says  that  E.  A.  Mcllhenny,  of 
Avery  Island,  Louisiana,  measured  fifty 
alligator  gars  in  a  nearly  dry  lake  during 
the  drought  of  1925  and  found  thirty  of 
them  over  seven  feet  long!  But  the  largest 
alligator  gar  Gudger  reports  having  been 
measured  was  taken  at  Belle  Island  Lake, 
Vermilion  Parish,  Louisiana.  It  was  nine 
feet  eight  and  one  -  half  inches  long, 
weighed  —  hold  on  —  302  pounds,  and  was 
witnessed  by  Mcllhenny.  Natives  of  the 
lower  Mississippi  country  say  gars  come 
even  bigger,  however  we  lack  a  reliable 
report  of  a  larger  one. 

But  is  the  alligator  gar  the  biggest  fresh 


5^  *  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


water  fish  in  America?  Don't  jump  to 
conclusions.  On  June  29,  1929  Mr.  Frank 
Lapointe  found  a  big  lake  sturgeon  in  his 
commercial  pound  net,  at  Batchewana 
Bay,  Lake  Superior.  It  weighed  310 
pounds!  Batchewana  Bay  is  in  Canadian 
waters,  but  on  July  3,  1943  Gordon  Pe- 
ters found  an  injured  lake  sturgeon  in 
U.S.  waters  of  the  same  lake  near  Benton 
Harbor,  Michigan  —  and  field  officers  of 
the  Michigan  Department  of  Conserva- 
tion verified  that  it  too  weighed  310 
pounds.  It  was  seven  feet  11  inches  long. 

There  you  have  the  biggest  known  fish 
residing  wholly  in  American  fresh  water 
of  which  we  could  find  a  reliable  record 
in  a  six  months'  search:  a  nine-foot-8V2- 
inch,  302-pound  alligator  gar  and  a  seven- 
foot-11  inch,  310-pound  lake  sturgeon. 
Their  weights  are  so  similar  that  among 
the  unrecorded  or  uncaught  lake  stur- 
geons and  gars  the  honor  of  being  the 
heaviest  may  be  a  tie. 

BUT  NOW  hold  on  a  minute.  Even  the  gars 
and  lake  sturgeons  are  just  minnows 
beside  another  leviathan.  You  may  bet 
your  shirt  that  the  biggest  fish  to  be 
found  living  part  of  its  life  in  American 
fresh  water  is  neither  muskie,  catfish, 
paddlefish,  salmon,  gar  or  lake  sturgeon. 
It  is,  by  all  odds,  the  enormous  Oregon 
sturgeon.  Here  is  a  monster  which,  like 
the  salmon,  spends  part  of  its  life  at  sea, 
but  spawns  in  rivers  of  the  Pacific  North- 
west. Nevertheless  this  is  not  the  same  as 
a  deep-sea  fish  being  taken  at  the  mouth 
of  a  river.  Idaho,  shut  off  from  the  sea  by 
the  full  width  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
has  produced  an  Oregon  sturgeon  weigh- 
ing half  a  ton!  (Snake  River,  1911.)  In 
1912  one  of  these  fish  was  rolled  up  in  a 
salmon  net  in  the  Columbia  River,  near 
Vancouver,  Washington.  It  was  12  Va  feet 
long,  weighed  1,285  pounds  —  and  is  thor- 
oughly attested!  The  Oregon  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  told  us  recently  that 
though  they  keep  no  truly  official  records 
the  largest  Oregon  sturgeon  in  their  book 
was  "reported"  to  weigh  1,500  pounds,  and 
was  taken  from  the  Snake  River  "around 
1925."  But  the  granddaddy  of  them  all 
may  have  been  an  Oregon  sturgeon 
which,  by  several  accounts,  was  caught 
near  Astoria,  Washington  in  1892.  This 
was  the  largest  fish  ever  to  be  taken  in 
U.  S.  fresh  water  of  which  we  have  a 
modern  legend.  It  weighed  2,000  pounds 
by  one  account  and  1,900  by  another,  and 
is  supposed  to  have  been  mounted  and 
exhibited  at  the  World  Columbian  Expo- 
sition in  Chicago  in  1893.  However,  all 
stories  of  this  monster  are  second  hand 
or  further  removed,  and  no  direct  account 
of  it  has  been  found. 

THE  Bonneville  Dam  and  other  modern 
works  of  man  have  worked  against  the 
Oregon  sturgeon,  and  these  days  you 
think  you  have  a  big  one  if  it  comes  a 
paltry  500  pounds. 

This  summary  of  our  biggest  fresh  wa- 
ter fish  is  compiled  from  reliable  sources. 
A  great  many  other  reliable  sources  re- 
fused to  be  quoted,  protesting  that  inade- 
quate records  are  kept  —  so  maybe  there 
are  some  bigger  fish  lurking  somewhere. 
If  you  catch  any,  drop  us  a  line. 

THE  END 


'^'^'^m/^r  /VORfO/f^  Mortimer  Norton,  known  to 
thousands  of  fishermen  as  "Old  Hi",  is  author  of 
the  popular  books  "Fishing  for  the  Millions"  and 
"Salt  Water  Sports  Fishing."  He  is  also  angling 
editor  of  the  Outdoor  Sportsman. 


m  THRILLS  IN  PAN  FISHIN' , ,  OH  YEAH  ? 


HERE'S  ONE  FOR  THE  BOORS 


THIS  WAS  THE 
PAyOff  OUTFIT 
8  FT.  FLY  ROD 
UVU  FLY  LINE  I 
AUTOMATIC  REEL 
3  FT.  LEADER  WfH 
DROPPER  LOOP 
2  SPLIT  SHOT  I 

YOUNG  CRAWFISH 

BASS  BUG  J 


^f^^m  TIE  INTO    BOTTOAf  P 


BOTTOM  MY  EYE , , 
I  GOT  TWO  ON... 
WATCH  IT,..  YOU'RE  MNNA 
FOUL  THE  ANCHOy^OPE 


EVER  TRY  TO  BOAT  4  LBS. 
OF  JACK  PERCH  THRASHIN'  \ 
AROUND  AN  ANCHOR  ROPE  I 
WE  DID  AND  GOT  'EM  BOTH  i 


"2i'^l"ACTI0N 

IS  TOPS  IN 
FISHIN' 
THRILLS 
WITH 

HI  TACKLE 


HORROCKS   IBBOTSON   CO.,   UTICA,  N.Y. 

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UTICA  AUTOMATIC 
FLY  REEL 
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A  fishing-tested  "stream- 
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lightest  weight . .  greatest 
line  capacity  of  any  auto 
reel  made. 


CHIEF  LEVEL  WIND  $3.50 

A  sturdy,  dependable  reel 
with  black  plastic  side 
plates,  steel  bearings  and 
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Level  $2.00  —  Tapered  $10.00 

Pliable,  glass  smooth  oil  finish. 
....  H-I  lines  are  smoother 
casting,  longer  lasting.  Won't 
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Means  FISHING  TACKLE 
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BETTER  BUY  H-I 

AT  youR 

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fishing  books— "Fishing  for 
the  Millions"  and  "Salt 
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Get  your  copies  now.  Write 
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The  Americcm  Legion  Magazine  •  May.  1949  • 


(Continued  from  page  53) 

But  within  a  week  I  caught  myself 
yawning  as  I  got  off  the  street  car  two 
blocks  from  home,  and  in  another  week 
I  stumbled  up  the  front  steps  with  just 
enough  energy  left  to  reach  for  my  little 
glass  of  port  and  stagger  to  the  couch.  I 
didn't  even  wash  my  face  or  take  off  my 
shoes.  I  collapsed  as  only  a  man  worn  out 
with  a  long  struggle  with  ulcers  can  col- 
lapse. When  guests  prevented  my  taking 
my  hour  one  night,  I  remembered  he  said 
take  at  least  three  minutes.  You've  no  idea 
what  just  three  minutes  of  sleep  can  do 
for  you,  just  before  you  take  your  ulcer 
to  the  table. 

In  the  years  since  then  I  have  found 
myself,  now  and  then,  getting  a  form  of 
indigestion  which  reminds  me  of  the  old 
ulcer  days.  I  promptly  go  back  to  my  port, 
my  before-dinner  nap,  and  the  indiges- 
tion disappears. 

I  got  to  where  I  could  sleep  with  fire  en- 
gines clanging  down  the  street,  doorbells 
and  telephones  ringing,  baby  crying,  pots 
and  pans  banging,  and  the  radio  playing 
so  loud  the  piano  strings  hummed.  When 
you  can  sleep  that  way  your  ulcers  are  on 
the  defensive.  But  you've  got  to  start  do- 


There  was  only  one  way  to  gain  the 
needed  information— join  a  carnival  and 
fraternize  with  the  operators. 

The  T.  A.  Wolfe  Shows  were  booked 
for  the  following  week  at  the  Tri-State 
Fair  at  Trenton,  N.  J.  Opening  day  found 
me  on  the  midway  watching  the  sharp- 
shooters fleece  the  dupes.  There  were 
numerous  types  of  thieving  stores:  tip- 
ups,  roll-downs,  cat-racks,  bucket-shops, 
spot  the  spots,  skill-o's,  and  so  on,  but 
there  seemed  to  be  only  one  method  of 
clipping  the  suckers.  All  the  concessions 
used  "shills,"  outside  workers  who  assisted 
the  operator  when  a  player  was  being 


ing  it!  That's  the  beauty  of  it— this  method 
starts  you.  After  that  you  coast. 

No  one  but  an  ulcer  patient  can  know 
what  a  change  in  outlook  results  when 
those  black,  depressing  hours  of  night 
agony  are  suddenly  transformed  into 
periods  of  real  enjoyment.  In  some  ways 
this  is  the  most  striking  evidence  of  im- 
provement—to fear  the  night  no  longer. 

I  have  told  a  few  other  ulcer  sufferers 
about  this  method  and  one  was  actually 
desperate  enough  to  try  it.  It  is  with  par- 
donable pride  that  I  offer  to  submit  his 
testimonial  if  the  hissing  section  desires 
it.  Another  man  talked  it  over  with  his 
doctor,  who  was  scandalized.  Later,  he 
"submitted"  to  a  four  hundred  and  fifty 
dollar  operation,  so  I  don't  know  what  to 
say,  hardly.  After  all,  mine  was  free  and 
the  doctor  could  probably  use  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  as  well  as  the  next 
man. 

I  have  talked  this  over  with  many  doc- 
tors, good  ones.  All  describe  it  as  "medi- 
cally sound,"  or  in  terms  that  mean  much 
the  same  thing.  Their  chief  criticism  is 
that  it  requires  intelligent  behavior  on 
the  part  of  the  patient.  Most  patients,  they 
say,  would  rather  take  a  pill  and  to  hell 
with  it.  It  is  probably  for  good  and  suffi- 


STEP  THIS  WAY,  SUCKER! 

(Continued  from  page  13) 

taken  for  a  slick  financial  sleigh-ride. 

The  shills  weren't  connected  directly 
with  any  one  concession  but  operated  as 
free  lances.  They  roved  up  and  down  the 
midway  until  a  signal  from  one  of  the 
boys  behind  the  counter  would  bring  them 
in  for  the  kill.  I  could  never  see  exactly 
what  happened  when  a  player  was  being 
taken  to  the  cleaners,  because  as  soon  as 
he  started  to  gamble  several  outside  work- 
ers would  crowd  around,  forming  a  tight 
semi-circle,  and  elbowing  would-be  on- 
lookers out  of  the  way.  Obviously,  the 
only  way  to  learn  what  happened  to  a 
sucker  was  to  be  a  sucker.  So,  when  one 


cient  reasons  that  most  doctors  distrust 
their  patients'  intelligence.  Well,  they  can 
read,  can't  they?  In  case  of  doubt,  refer 
to  this  article. 

One  nationally  recognized  physician 
told  me,  "The  doctor  who  gave  you  this 
advice  should  have  the  moral  courage  to 
take  all  the  ulcer  patients  he  can  get  and 
supervise  their  treatment,  keeping  com- 
plete case  notes,  preferably  in  conjunc- 
tion with  another  doctor  who  is  not  'sold' 
on  the  method.  When  sufficient  cases  have 
been  treated  to  warrant  speculation,  if  not 
a  conclusion,  he  should  offer  his  findings 
for  publication  in  the  Journal.  Personally, 
I  believe  he  could  prove  his  method  is 
sound  and  successful,  but  he's  got  to  have 
the  same  courage  Pasteur  had  when  he 
gave  his  rabies  treatment  to  those  Rus- 
sians. A  man  who  could  do  with  ulcers 
what  Pasteur  did  for  rabies  would  cer- 
tainly make  a  name  for  himself  in  medi- 
cal history." 

"Why  don't  you  do  it?"  I  asked  him. 

"I'm  busy,"  he  answered. 

Members  of  the  profession  may  feel  free 
to  take  full  advantage  of  this  article.  Now, 
who's  got  a  guaranteed  two-dollar  remedy 
for  hay  fever?  the  end 


of  the  agents  called  to  me:  "Hey,  Buddy. 
Got  a  match?"  I  walked  over  and  tendered 
him  my  lighter.  I  had  already  noticed 
that  this  was  a  favorite  method  of  getting 
prospective  customers  to  approach  the 
joints. 

The  concessionaire  lit  the  cigarette 
which  dangled  from  his  lips,  then  asked 
me  if  I  had  ever  played  the  game.  Without 
waiting  for  a  reply  he  went  into  his  spiel. 

"Ya  did  me  a  favor,  I'd  like  to  do  you 
one.  Tha  boss  ain't  here,  so  mebbe  I  can 
give  ya  a  break."  Pointing  to  the  hori- 
zontal wheel,  set  in  the  middle  of  the 
counter:  "Got  ten  numbahs  on  tha  wheel, 
an'  ten  numbahs  on  tha  layouts."  A  sweep 
of  his  arm  indicated  the  iDrightly  colored 
oilcloth  strips  on  either  side  of  the  wheel. 
"Ya  pay  a  quarter  to  play,  an'  ya  might 
win  a  fancy  lamp.  'Course,  if  ya  don't  want 
tha  lamp,  I'll  pay  ya  two-and-a-half  for 
it.  That's  what  they  cost  wholesale." 

One  of  the  inevitable  shills  had  edged 
in  alongside  me.  "You  mean  I  win  two 
bucks  and  a  half  if  the  wheel  stops  on  my 
number?"  asked  the  "innocent"  shill. 

"That's  tha  general  idea,"  said  the  agent. 
Then  to  me:  "Wha'dya  say.  Bud?  Wanna 
take  a  chance?" 

"Okay,"  I  replied,  and  tossed  a  quarter 
on  number  four.  "You  look  lucky  to  me," 
said  the  shill.  "I'll  string  along  with  you." 
He  added  his  quarter  to  mine. 

A  massive  metal  arrow,  about  two  feet 
long,  humped  in  the  middle,  was  set  on  a 
small  tripod.  This  was  the  pointer.  The 
operator  gave  it  a  push.  Noiselessly  it 
glided  around,  the  soft  indicator  barely 
whispering  as  it  swept  by  the  nails  which 
divided  the  numbers.  It  stopped  on  nine. 

"Ya  lose,"  said  the  agent,  "but  don't  go 
'way.  I'll  tell  ya  what  I'm  goin'  ta  do."  He 
produced  a  wedge-shaped  red  cardboard. 
"Numbah  nine  won  that  time,  so  I'll  block 
that  numbah  off.  This  time  ya  pay  a  hall- 


5g  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


dollar,  an'  if  tha  wheel  stops  on  tha  num- 
bah  ya  bet  on,  or  on  tha  red  cardboard, 
I'll  pay  ya  five  bucks."  He  laid  the  bill  on 
the  counter  as  proof  of  his  ability  to  pay. 

"That's  a  good  bet,"  said  the  shill.  He 
turned  to  me.  "How's  about  it,  partner? 
Shall  we  try  it  again?"  He'd  known  me 
less  than  a  minute,  and  already  he  was 
my  partner! 

I  nodded,  laid  my  half-dollar  on  num- 


WALLY 


oU  fine  .jMddn'. 
IcjokiW  ftjr  ft 

up  tkese 


(From  June,  1933  A.L.U.) 


ber  three.  So  did  the  shill.  This  time  four 
won. 

"Shoulda  stayed  on  numbah  four,"  said 
the  concessionaire.  "Ya  lose  again,  but 
don't  go  way.  I  said  I'd  give  ya  a  break  an' 
I  meant  it."  Out  came  another  wedge  of 
cardboard,  and  number  four  was  blocked 
off.  "This  time  it  costs  ya  a  dollar.  If  tha 
arrow  stops  on  the  numbah  ya  pick,  or 
on  either  one  of  tha  blocked-off  numbahs, 
ya  win  a  sawbuck."  This  time  he  placed 
a  ten-spot  on  the  counter. 

Without  waiting  for  the  shill's  blarney, 
I  plunked  a  dollar  bill  down  on  number 
five.  So  did  my  new-found  gambling  part- 
ner. This  time  six  was  the  winner.  Again 
the  winning  number  was  blocked  off, 
again  the  stakes  were  raised.  Dutifully  the 
shill  and  I  each  paid  two  dollars  for  a 
chance  to  win  twenty.  Of  course  we  lost. 

By  this  time  a  half-dozen  outside  men 
were  gathered  round  the  counter  in  a 
tight  group.  These  self-appointed  advisers 
kept  cheering  me  on.  "He's  trying  to  bluff 
you  out,"  was  the  refrain  of  thjeir  song. 
"If  you  play  long  enough,  you're  bound 
to  win.  Don't  let  him  scare  you."  Some- 


how or  other  they  didn't  find  it  necessary 
to  bolster  the  confidence  of  the  shill,  who 
was  apparently  losing  as  much  as  I. 

Four  to  win  forty,  eight  to  win  eighty, 
sixteen  for  one  hundred  and  sixty,  thirty- 
two  for  three  hundred  and  twenty.  Al- 
ways the  agent  would  place  the  bills  on 
the  counter  with  a  flourish,  always  the 
back-stop  would  chant  words  of  encour- 
agement, always  the  shill  would  bet  on 
the  same  number  I  had  selected,  and  al- 
ways an  unblocked  number  would  come 
up.  Finally  only  two  numbers,  one  and 
eight,  were  uncovered. 

"Let  me  understand  this  game,"  I  said 
to  the  operator.  "If  I  play  again  for  sixty- 
four  dollars  and  lose,  only  one  number 
will  be  unblocked.  Can  I  then  play  that 
number  to  win?" 

"Sure  can,"  replied  the  agent.  "All  ya 
gotta  do  is  stick  with  it.  We  keep  on 
playin'  till  somebody  wins." 

What  was  the  gimmick,  I  wondered.  I 
wasn't  naive  enough  to  believe  I  could 
play  that  last  number  and  win,  but  what 
was  the  blow-off?  The  only  way  to  find 
out  was  to  pay  and  play.  It  was  an  ex- 
pensive education,  but  I  counted  out 
sixty-four  dollars,  laid  it  on  number  one. 
So  did  the  shill. 

A  slight  push  sent  the  arrow  circling. 
It  crept  along  so  slowly  one  would  think 
it  was  coming  to  a  stop  but  I  knew  from 
experience  that  it  would  complete  two  or 
three  full  revolutions.  It  was  then  the  trap 
was  sprung. 

"This  guy's  unlucky,"  said  the  shill,  to 
no  one  in  particular.  "I'm  going  to  split 
away  from  him."  So  saying  he  picked  up 
the  bundle  of  bills  he  had  placed  on  num- 
ber one  and  transferred  them  to  number 
eight.  Obviously  number  eight  would  win, 
the  shill  would  collect,  and  I'd  be  left 
holding  the  bag. 

"Oh,  no,  you  don't"  I  thought.  "I'll  make 
you  fellows  work  for  your  money."  I 
reached  down  to  pick  up  my  wager  also 
but  before  I  could  transfer  the  bet  the 
arrow  jerked  to  a  stop.  On  number  eight, 
naturally. 

"Got  another  winnah,"  shouted  the 
agent  at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  thus  adver- 
tising to  the  passers-by  that  someone 
had  won  something.  In  a  much  lower  tone 
he  directed  the  other  confederates:  "Pratt 
'im."  Instantly  the  bystanders  went  into 
action.  They  crowded  around  the  shill, 
slapping  him  on  the  back,  congratulating 
him  on  his  good  luck.  None  too  gently  I 
was  forced  away  from  the  counter,  out 
into  the  road.  But  I  wasn't  altogether 
friendless.  One  of  the  outside  men  joined 
me,  offered  consolation.  "You  got  a  tough 
break,"  he  said.  "You  almost  made  it." 
Evidently  aware  that  I  still  had  some 
money  left:  "I  know  a  game  that's  much 
easier.  Let  me  show  it  to  you." 

He  walked  me  to  a  concession  diagon- 
ally across  the  road.  The  entire  back  of 
the  booth  was  covered  with  gaily  dec- 
orated blankets.  On  the  counter  was  a 
shallow  box,  about  a  foot  square,  one  inch 
deep.  Its  far  end  was  divided  into  eighteen 
compartments  numbered  from  one  to  six. 
A  half-dozen  marbles  rested  in  the  near 
end.  A  roller  attached  to  the  underside  of 
the  box,  in  the  middle,  kept  it  tilted  to  the 
front,  thus  keeping  the  marbles  in  place. 
When  the  box  was  tipped  upward  the 


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The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  • 


marbles  rolled  to  the  other  end,  into  the 
numbered  compartments. 

"Look  at  the  layout,"  muttered  my  as- 
sertive guide.  The  "Layout"  was  a  posted 
chart  with  numbers  printed  in  different 
colored  squares,  announcing  the  pay-off 
for  various  total  scores.  "Thirty-one  num- 
bers; three  green,  eight  red,  twenty  black. 
Red  numbers  win,  so  the  odds  against  the 
player  are  less  than  three  to  one.  You  win 
ten  dollars  and  it  only  costs  a  quarter  to 
play.  Looks  like  a  good  game,  don't  you 
think?" 

Anyone  with  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  arithmetic  could  see  instantly  that 
something  was  wrong.  The  prize  was  ten 
dollars;  each  chance  cost  a  quarter.  Pre- 
sumably the  odds  against  the  player  were 
more  than  39  to  1.  But  it  had  just  been 
pointed  out  to  me  that  the  odds  were  less 
than  three  to  one.  Again,  where  was  the 
gimmick? 

I  didn't  have  time  to  study  the  layout 
well,  because  the  agent  and  my  conductor 
went  into  their  well  rehearsed  routine. 
This  time  the  shill  started  playing  with- 
out asking  me  to  join  him.  He  bet  a 
quarter,  and  lost.  Another  quarter,  an- 
other loss.  Then  he  turned  to  me.  "You 
tip  it  for  me,"  he  requested.  I  did.  Rapidly 
the  agent  counted  the  marbles.  "Thirty- 
four,"  he  announced.  "A  winner."  He 
handed  ten  dollars  to  the  shill. 

That  worthy  looked  at  me,  grinning. 
"Thanks,  pal,"  he  said.  "I  knew  you  were 
lucky.  Here's  a  buck  for  your  trouble." 

I  reached  out  my  hand  for  the  dollar, 
my  fingers  closed  on  thin  air.  The  shill 
jerked  it  back.  "You  probably  don't  want 
a  gift,"  he  said,  "so  instead  I'll  pay  for  a 
couple  of  chances."  He  handed  the  dollar 
to  the  agent. 

"Go  ahead,  tip  it,"  said  the  man  behind 
the  counter.  "It's  all  paid  for." 

I  tipped  the  box,  the  concessionaire 
counted  the  score.  "You  did  it  again,"  he 
exclaimed.  "Thirty-two.  That's  a  green 
one.  Don't  you  ever  lose?"  He  pulled  a 
thick  roll  of  bills  from  his  pocket,  peeled 


off  a  ten-spot,  started  to  hand  it  to  me. 
I  never  got  it.  Yanking  it  back,  the  agent 
said:  "Before  we  go  on  I've  got  to  know 
if  you  could  have  paid  off  if  you'd  lost. 
Have  you  got  ten  dollars  on  you?" 

"Sure  he  has,"  said  the  shill.  "Go  ahead, 
show  him  you've  got  ten  bucks." 

Another  voice  chimed  in.  "Don't  let  him 
bluff  you.  Just  show  him  you've  got  ten 
dollars."  I  looked  around.  The  same  half- 
dozen  characters  who  had  helped  me  lose 
at  the  wheel  were  gathered  around. 

I  opened  my  wallet,  spread  it  to  show 
my  last  ten  dollar  bill.  The  shill  reached 
over,  pulled  the  banknote  out,  handed  it 
to  the  agent.  "See,"  he  crowed,  "I  told 
you  he  had  the  money." 

The  concessionaire  tucked  the  ten  dol- 
lars under  a  box  where  he  had  already 
placed  the  first  ten-spot.  "Tip  it  down 
again,"  he  said.  "If  you  score  a  red  one 
you  win  the  jackpot." 

"But  I  thought  you  said  I  had  already 
won,"  I  protested. 

"Won?  I  didn't  say  you'd  won.  I  said  you 
hadn't  lost.  You  got  a  green  number  — 
thirty-two.  That  means  we  form  a  jack- 
pot, ten  dollars  each.  That's  why  you  had 
to  show  your  ten.  If  you  get  a  red  number 
now  you  win  the  prize.  Go  on,  tip  it." 

Need  it  be  said  that  I  scored  a  black 
number?  I  turned  away,  pushed  by  the 
encircling  shills,  and  walked  down  the 
midway. 

This  wasn't  gambling,  I  told  myself,  this 
was  outright  robbery.  Granted  that  the 
majority  of  fair  goers  were  too  confused 
by  the  fast  talk  or  too  fear-ridden  to  do 
anything,  there  must  be  a  sizable  number 
who  complained.  What  happened  in  that 
case?  How  were  the  grifters  protected? 

I  stopped  a  fair  guard,  asked  him  where 
the  police  booth  was  located.  He  directed 
me  to  an  office  under  the  grandstand. 
When  I  entered  a  police  sergeant  seated 
behind  a  deck  was  engrossed  in  conversa- 
tion with  a  stout,  flabby-faced  man  who 
I  later  learned  was  the  "fixer"  for  the 
carnival. 


I  told  my  story  to  the  police  officer.  He 
turned  to  the  other  man.  "Jack,"  he  said, 
"you  heard  this  man.  I'll  have  to  pinch 
those  boys  for  gambling." 

The  fixer  removed  a  moist  cigar  from 
protruding  lips.  He  spat  on  the  ground, 
then  addressed  me.  "Mister,  if  you  insist 
on  swearing  out  a  warrant,  those  boys  will 
be  taken  into  custody.  But  you  admit  that 
you've  been  gambling  too.  Now  that's  agin 
the  law.  So  it  seems  as  though  you'll  have 
to  go  along  to  jail.  Don't  you  think  it 
would  be  better  all  around  if  you  just  for- 
got about  what  happened?  Charge  your 
loss  up  to  experience." 

"Maybe  you're  right,"  I  said.  "I've 
learned  a  lot  today." 

I  had  memorized  the  layout  used  by  the 
tip-up  concession.  That  night  I  drew  one 
from  memory.  Of  the  31  numbers  on  the 
layout,  8  were  red:  6,  7,  8,  9,  33,  34,  35,  36. 
Three  were  green:  10,  31,  32.  All  the  others 
were  black. 

The  layout  was  not  arranged  in  rotation, 
so  the  reds  were  scattered.  This  gave  the 
impression  the  odds  against  the  player 
were  only  about  three  to  one  when  in 
reality  they  were  closer  to  three  thou- 
sand to  one.  To  get  a  winning  total  of  six 
all  the  marbles  would  have  to  go  in  the 
compartment  numbered  one.  And  to  get 
a  winning  total  of  thirty-six,  all  would 
have  to  fall  into  the  six  slot.  Improbable, 
if  not  impossible. 

How  could  the  agent  cause  the  player 
to  win?  The  answer  was  simple  to  the 
point  .of  absurdity.  He  had  miscounted  the 
total.  Pointing  to  the  first  marble,  he 
would  say:  "Six."  Then  he'd  pick  it  up 
and  say:  "Twelve."  By  so  doing  he 
counted  seven  marbles  instead  of  six.  Few 
people  would  notice,  fewer  still  would 
say  anything.  Whenever  such  a  "mistake" 
was  made  the  agent  was  deliberately 
counting  up  to  a  winning  total. 

The  next  day  I  approached  several  con- 
cessionaires with  a  request  for  a  job,  and 
was  curtly  refused.  They  didn't  intend  to 
initiate  a  "town  clown"  into  the  intrica- 
cies of  the  carnival  world.  However,  I 
fell  into  a  bit  of  luck.  The  night  before 
the  fair  ended  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  pleasant  showman,  one  Eddie  Ma- 
honey,  who  managed  the  side  show  with 
the  T.  A.  Wolfe  outfit.  I  bought  him  a  few 
drinks,  told  him  I  wanted  to  travel.  It 
worked.  When  the  show  train  pulled  out 
for  Winston-Salem  I  was  on  it,  hired  as 
a  barker  for  the  freak  show.  My  salary? 
Fifteen  dollars  a  week  and  all  I  co.uld  steal 
selling  tickets. 

I  did  little  work,  and  no  stealing.  Since 
I  was  always  well  supplied  with  funds 
Eddie  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  I 
was  on  the  lam,  hiding  from  the  law.  I  let 
him  think  so.  By  buying  him  drinks  I  re- 
tained my  nominal  job  as  barker  without 
having  to  do  any  actual  work.  My  time 
was  spent  on  thieves'  alley,  as  the  row 
of  concessions  was  aptly  termed. 

After  I  had  been  with  the  carnival  sev- 
eral days  the  agents  knew  I  was  "with  it" 
and  allowed  me  to  watch  when  a  sucker 
was  being  clipped.  If  a  stranger  on  a  mid- 
way responds  to  an  invitation  to  play  by 
saying  "I'm  with  it"  he  is  telling  the  con- 
cessionaire that  he  too  is  a  showman. 

I  was  especially  interested  in  the  Giant 
Swinger,  a  15-inch  bowling  pin  which  was 


5g  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


Gear  Shift  Contro 


THE  OUTBOARD 
MOTOR  WITH 


set  on  the  counter.  Directly  above  it  a 
chain  was  fastened  to  an  overhead  beam. 
The  other  end  of  the  chain  was  attached 
to  a  five-inch  Ebonite  bowling  ball  by 
means  of  a  screw-eye.  When  not  in  use  the 
chain  could  be  hooked  over  a  nail  on  the 
wall,  keeping  the  ball  to  one  side.  Other- 
wise the  ball  would  come  to  rest  directly 
in  the  center  of  the  bowling  pin. 

A  small  peg  in  the  counter  could  be 


"He  says  hes  been  with  us  a  whole 
year  now,  and  he  wants  a  week's 
vacation  with  pay." 

AMERICAM    LEGION  MAGAZINE 


raised  at  the  precise  spot  where  the  pin 
should  be,  and  there  was  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  bowling  pin  for  this  peg  to 
fit  into.  The  concessionaire  would  spot  the 
pin  "fairly"  by  placing  it  over  the  peg, 
which  could  then  be  dropped  just  like  the 
spotting  pegs  on  a  regular  bowling  alley. 
The  peg  was  too  small  to  hold  the  pin  up 
against  a  blow.  Apparently  the  bowling 
pin  was  fixed  to  one  spot  by  the  peg  and 
would  stand  well-centered.  The  player 
would  grasp  the  ball,  put  it  up  against 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  pin,  and  push. 
If  the  ball  knocked  down  the  pin  on  the 
return  swing  the  player  won. 

But  you  couldn't  win.  The  ball  was  hung 
directly  above  the  center  of  the  pin,  there- 
fore it  would  always  miss  the  pin  on  the 
right-hand  side  by  the  same  margin  with 
which  it  cleared  the  pin  on  the  left-hand 
side. 

Yet  the  operator  could  violate  this 
physical  law  at  will.  Not  only  could  he 
knock  the  pin  down  whenever  he  wished, 
he  could  also  fix  it  so  the  player  could 
knock  it  down.  For  a  long  while  I  was 
puzzled.  Then  I  got  the  answer,  not  from 
anyone  with  the  carnival,  but  from  a  sup- 
posed-to-be chump. 

I  saw  the  tell-tale  knot  of  shills  around 
the  swinging  ball  and  knew  another  inno- 
cent was  being  swindled.  I  wormed  my 
way  up  to  the  counter.  Since  the  shills 
recognized  me  I  was  allowed  to  watch. 
The  player,  a  lanky  Georgia  farmhand, 
was  paying  five  dollars  for  a  chance  to 
win  fifty.  In  a  typical  Southern  drawl  he 
was  saying  to  the  agent:  "Ah  get  back 
fifty-fahv  dollahs  if  ah  knocks  down  the 
pin.  Raght?" 


"Right,"  said  the  agent.  "Let's  go." 
The  victim  started  to  hand  over  the 
five  dollar  bill,  slipped,  and  dropped  it 
behind  the  counter.  The  concessionaire 
stooped  over  to  pick  it  up.  Out  of  the 
corner  of  my  eye  I  saw  the  Georgian  move 
the  bowling  pin  slightly  to  the  right.  I 
couldn't  figure  how  he  did  it  in  view  of 
the  peg  which  fixed  the  pin  to  one  spot  on 
the  counter  and  hadn't  yet  been  dropped. 
I  had  thought  this  was  to  hold  the  bowling 
pin  steady.  At  the  time  the  covert  move 
meant  nothing  to  me,  later  it  was  to  be  an 
all-important  clew. 

The  agent  straightened  up,  placed  the 
five  dollars  on  the  counter,  added  fifty  of 
his  own.  The  unshaven  cracker  carefully 
placed  the  ball  alongside  the  pin,  gave  it 
a  slight  push,  and  what  couldn't  happen, 
happened.  On  the  return  swing  the  ball 
knocked  the  pin  down! 

The  agent  was  taken  aback,  but  only 
temporarily.  He  picked  up  the  roll  of  bills. 
"You  win,  buddy,"  he  said.  "Let's  count 
the  pot.  Sticks  will  beef,  you  know." 

By  now  I  was  familiar  with  some  of  the 
carnival  argot.  I  knew  that  sticks  was 
another  term  for  shills,  and  that  beef 
meant  to  argue.  He  was  telling  the  shills 
to  start  an  argument.  This  they  did,  with 
a  will.  A  few  harsh  words  and  two  of  the 
outside  workers  started  slugging  each 
other.  The  rest  joined  in,  swinging  merrily 
away.  The  poor  sucker  was  badly  mauled 
in  the  ensuing  free-for-all.  When  the 
fight  was  over,  the  agent  broke  the  sad 
news.  During  the  commotion  someone  had 
grabbed  the  money  and  disappeared.  Too 
bad,  but  that's  the  way  it  was.  Nothing 
could  be  done  now. 

Evidently  the  Georgian  had  discovered 
the  secret  of  the  swinging  ball  and  had 
tried  to  profit  from  his  knowledge.  As 
matters  turned  out  he  would  have  been 
better  off  had  he  simply  lost  his  money 
and  let  it  go  at  that. 

With  the  movement  of  the  pin  as  a  clew 
I  easily  figured  out  the  "gaff  to  the  joint." 
The  opening  in  the  bottom  of  the  pin  was 
not  to  hold  the  pin  steady  but  was  the 
method  of  control.  If  the  pin  were  set  so 
the  opening  pressed  against  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  peg,  no  one  could  knock 
down  the  pin.  But  if  it  were  set  so  the 
opening  rested  against  the  left-hand  side, 
the  pin  would  be  ofl-center  and  the  re- 
turning ball  would  always  knock  it  down. 

The  T.  A.  Wolfe  Shows  disbanded  for 
the  season  at  Augusta,  Ga.  I  returned  to 
New  York. 

I  had  learned  just  enough  about  the  car- 
nival rackets  to  want  to  know  more,  so 
come  spring  I  joined  the  Johnny  J.  Jones 
Exposition  at  Tampa,  Florida.  The  show 
was  booked  for  a  few  early  fairs,  then  a 
string  of  still  dates.  I  soon  learned  I  was 
on  the  wrong  carnival.  The  concessions 
were  crooked  but  were  not  allowed  to  rip 
and  tear.  The  worst  kind  of  skill  games 
were  barred  altogether,  the  merchandise 
stands  could  not  play  for  more  than  half- 
a-dollar  at  a  time.  Thievery  was  per- 
mitted, but  only  on  a  retail  basis. 

It  so  happened  that  Billboard,  magazine 
for  show  people,  was  conducting  a  cam- 
paign against  grifting  concessions.  One  of 
the  shows  lambasted  editorially  was  the 
Billie  Clark  carnival.  I  decided  that  was 
the  place  for  me.  In  Jacksonville  Johnny 


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The  Ameiican  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  •  ^9 


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J.  Jones  played  day  and  date  with  Billie 
Clark.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  skip  from 
one  to  the  other. 

For  purposes  of  protective  coloration  I 
had  purchased  two  hot-dog  stands.  All  I 
did  was  pay  the  rent,  order  the  frank- 
furters and  rolls,  and  let  my  managers  do 
the  actual  work.  Thus  I  had  plenty  of 
free  time,  which  I  spent  on  robbery  lane. 
Once  again  I  got  a  lucky  break. 

A  fellow  called  Rat-Face,  owner  of  the 
spot-the-spot  joint,  was  a  hot-dog  fan.  I 
let  him  have  all  he  wanted  for  free;  in 
return  he  bared  the  secret  of  the  spot 
which  couldn't  be  spotted. 

A  large  red  circle,  about  eight  inches 
in  diameter,  was  painted  on  an  expanse  of 
white  oilcloth.  The  idea  of  the  game  was 
to  cover  that  red  spot  with  five  metal  discs, 
each  about  five  inches  across.  The  player 
who  blotted  out  the  red  circle  would 
theoretically  win  a  handsome  Gladstone 
bag,  or  ten  dollars  in  cash.  I  say  theo- 
retically, because  no  one  ever  won.  It  was 
Rat-Face's  practice  to  buy  a  dozen  bags 
at  the  start  of  the  season,  and  sell  those 
same  bags  to  the  carneys  on  the  day  the 
show  closed. 

The  gaff  was  simple,  but  subtle.  The 
circle  wasn't  a  true  circle  at  all,  but  an 
oval,  eight-and-a-quarter  incTies  in  diam- 
eter one  way  only  eight  inches  another. 
One  of  the  discs  was  similarly  off-shaped. 
If  the  key  disc  were  dropped  first,  hori- 
zontally, it  was  an  easy  matter  to  cover 
the  spot  with  the  other  four.  But  should 
the  key  disc  be  dropped  vertically,  or  any 
place  except  across  the  bulge,  there  was 
absolutely  no  chance  of  success. 

One  night  I  was  listening  to  Rat-Face 
bragging  about  big  touches  he  had  made 
in  the  past,  when  a  13nky  youth  sauntered 
down  the  midway.  Immediately  Rat-Face 
interrupted  the  conversation  to  solicit 
business.  "Hey,  Slim,"  he  called,  "what's 
the  address  of  the  Union  Hotel?" 

Obligingly  the  boy  walked  over,  sup- 
plied the  desired  information.  Then  Rat- 
Face  baited  his  trap.  "Ever  play  this 
game?"  he  asked,  and  launched  into  an 
explanation.  With  the  ease  of  long  prac- 
tice he  covered  the  spot.  Then  he  offered 


his  prospect  a  free  chance.  The  boy  held 
the  plates  about  a  half-inch  above  the 
crimson  circle,  dropped  them  carefully, 
but  missed.  By  this  time  Tubby  Winslow, 
shillaber  extraordinary,  had  bellied  up  to 
the  stand. 

"I'm  going  to  make  it  easy  for  you  to 
win,"  Rat-Face  said.  "I'll  drop  the  first 
four  plates.  All  you  have  to  do  is  cover 
the  rest  of  the  spot  with  the  last  one.  Here, 
try  it." 

He  handed  over  the  final  disc.  Carefully 
the  youth  aimed,  dropped  it.  At  last,  suc- 
cess! He  covered  the  spot.  Rat-Face  picked 
it  up,  handed  it  to  the  boy  again,  and 
said:  "That's  all  there  is  to  it.  Now  pay 
me  a  quarter,  I'll  leave  the  four  discs 
down  and  if  you  do  it  again  you  win  a 
prize." 

The  potential  victim  hesitated.  The  other 
became  confidential.  He  leaned  across  the 
counter,  whispered  his  good  tidings. 

"I'm  giving  you  this  break  because  I 
want  to  get  a  few  winners  carrying  these 
bags  around  the  midway.  That's  good  ad- 
vertising. Everybody  will  know  you  won 
it  here." 

His  doubts  at  last  dispelled,  the  boy 
opened  his  wallet,  extracted  a  five-dollar 
bill.  Tubby,  peeking  in  the  billfold,  asked 
a  seemingly  innocent  question:  "Are  all 
those  bags  guaranteed  forty-liners?"  He 
was  conveying  the  information  that  the 
sucker  had  twenty  dollars.  In  carnival 
lingo  a  'line'  is  a  half-dollar,  hence  forty- 
liner  meant  twenty  dollars. 

Handing  over  the  five-spot,  the  boy  ac- 
cepted the  disc.  Again  he  took  careful  aim, 
but  this  time  he  missed.  While  he  had 
been  getting  out  his  money,  Rat-Face  had 
moved  one  of  the  discs  already  on  the 
counter,  making  it  impossible  for  anyone 
to  cover  the  spot. 

"You're  nervous,  shaky.  Try  it  again 
and  be  more  careful."  Once  more  the  con- 
cessionaire dropped  the  first  four  plates. 
He  dropped  the  fifth  plate  too,  to  prove 
that  the  spot  could  be  covered  easily.  Then 
he  picked  up  the  last  disc.  While  doing  this 
his  thumb  again  moved  one  of  the  plates. 
The  kid  missed,  of  course. 

Rat-Face  looked  unhappy.  "I'm  anxious 


gQ  •  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


"O.K.  Try  the  starter  again." 


AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


to  have  you  win  one  of  these  bags  for 
advertising  purposes,"  he  said.  "You  take 
two  more  chances  and  if  you  don't  win 
I'll  give  you  one  free." 

"You  mean  it?"  Slim  asked,  eagerly. 
"You'll  give  me  a  bag  if  I  don't  win  one?" 

"This  gentleman  heard  what  I  said,"'  in- 
dicating the  shill. 

Naturally  the  youth  accepted.  He 
dropped  the  plates  twice  more  without 
half  trying.  After  all,  that  Gladstone  bag 
was  worth  considerably  more  than  one 
dollar.  After  the  fourth  failure  he  said: 
"Okay,  give  me  the  bag.  I'll  let  everyone 
know  where  I  won  it." 

Rat-Face  pretended  bewilderment.  I'll 
say  one  thing  —  he  put  on  a  good  act. 
"Give  you  a  bag!"  he  exclaimed.  "You 
misunderstood  me.  I  meant  I'd  give  you 
a  free  chance  if  you  didn't  win.  I'll  leave 
it  to  this  gentleman.  Didn't  I  say  I'd  give 
him  a  free  chance?" 

Solemnly  Tubby  agreed.  "That's  right, 
boy,"  he.  said.  "He  offered  to  give  you  a 
free  chance." 

Sourly  the  disillusioned  player  said: 
"Never  mind  the  free  chance.  Just  give 
me  my  four  dollars  change." 

"Sure.  Haven't  got  the  change  on  me. 
You're  my  first  customer.  Wait  a  minute 
and  I'll  get  it."  He  called  to  the  agent  in 
the  next  booth.  "Hey,  Sam,  get  me  change 
for  a  finif." 

Turning  back  to  the  luckless  victim, 
Rat-Face  gave  the  signal  for  the  shill  to 
go  into  his  act.  "You  don't  mind  if  you're 
duked  in,  do  you?"  he  said  to  the  boy. 
Slim  shook  his  head  in  puzzlement,  but 
Tubby  got  right  to  work. 

"Would  you  drop  the  first  four  plates 
for  me  if  I  played?"  he  asked.  Rat-Face 
nodded.  "I  give  everybody  a  fair  shake," 
he  said. 

The  boy,  waiting  for  his  change,  watched 
Tubby  play.  After  losing  twice.  Tubby, 
turned  to  the  sucker.  "You  covered  the 
spot  once.  Maybe  you  can  do  it  again. 
Try  it  for  me,  will  you?" 

From  then  on  the  farce  was  acted  out 
smoothly,  just  as  it  had  been  the  time 
I  played  the  role  of  sucker  back  at  the 
Trenton  Fair.  After  the  two  swindlers 
had  reached  the  point  where  the  boy  had 
been  taken  for  ten  dollars,  they  shot 
another  angle.  The  youth  still  had  four 
dollars  change  coming  from  his  first  five- 
dollar  bill.  Rat-Face  laid  this  four  dollars 
on  the  counter,  Tubby  picked  it  up.  "I  hate 
to  see  you  quit  losers  of  eleven  dollars," 
he  said,  "so  I'm  going  to  give  you  a  break. 
I'll  add  four  dollars  to  this  and  we'll  try 
to  win  back  your  losses."  Turning  to 
Rat-Face  he  asked:  "How  much  would 
this  eight  bucks  win?" 

"I'll  give  you  ten  to  one,"  the  other 
offered.  He  pulled  a  roll  of  bills  from  his 
pocket,  counted  eighty  dollars  on  the 
counter.  A  few  moments  previously  he 
had  claimed  he  couldn't  change  a  five- 
dollar  bill.  Vainly  the  youth  protested 
that  he  didn't  want  to  play,  just  wanted 
his  change.  But  Tubby  kept  brushing  him 
off,  insisting  they  take  one  more  chance. 
The  play  followed  the  script:  He  lost. 

The  youth  knew  he  had  been  robbed 
and  said  so  in  no  uncertain  language. 
There  was  an  argument,  Rat-Face  struck 
at  the  sucker  and  as  the  sucker  struck 
back,  Rat-Face  ducked  under  the  counter, 
came  up  with  a  hammer  and  swung  it 


viciously.  It  caught  the  youth  alongside 
the  head.  He  staggered  back,  dazed.  For 
a  moment  he  stood  motionless.  Then  he 
turned  and  ran,  holding  a  handkerchief 
to  his  bleeding  ear.  I  walked  away,  sick 
to  my  stomach. 

Early  the  following  night  I  was  sitting 
in  the  cookhouse,  having  coffee  and  cakes. 
A  dozen  townsmen,  swinging  baseball 
bats,  came  ambling  up  the  midway.  At 
first  I  thought  they  were  on  their  way 
home  from  a  baseball  game,  but  when 
they  reached  the  spot-the-spot  joint  they 
made  a  concerted  rush.  Rat-Face  was 
taken  by  surprise.  A  bat  cracked  over  his 
head,  he  crumbled  to  the  ground. 

Before  anyone  realized  what  was  hap- 
pening the  men  grasped  the  concession 
by  the  front  supports  and  tipped  it  back- 
ward. In  no  time  at  all  the  booth  and 
the  expensive  luggage  was  a  mass  of 
wreckage.  Everything  happened  so  sud- 
denly, so  silently,  that  only  those  nearby 
saw  the  attack.  But  the  entire  carnival 
was  soon  aware  that  something  was  amiss. 
Showfolk  who  had  seen  the  incident 
sounded  the  alarm  with  cries  of  "Hey, 
Rube!  Hey,  Rube!" 

The  concessionaires  eating  in  the  cook- 
house rushed  out,  leaving  me  to  watch 
the  battle  in  solitary  splendor.  From  all 
over  the  lot  the  carneys  came  running  to 
the  scene. 

They  were  flourishing  all  kinds  of 
weapons  —  sledge  hammers,  stakes,  iron 
bars,  whatever  they  could  lay  hands  on. 
For  a  while  the  air  was  filled  with  the 
screams  of  the  show  folk  and  the  groans 
of  the  townsmen.  Flailing  clubs  beat  a 
tattoo  on  the  bodies  of  the  unfortunate 
invaders.  The  baseball  bats  were  quickly 
wrested  from  their  grasp,  and  used 
against  them. 

When  it  was  all  over  the  intruders  lay 
on  the  ground,  unconscious  or  badly 
battered.  Few  of  the  carneys  had  been 
hurt,  none  seriously.  The  outsiders  were 
carried  or  escorted  to  the  show  train.  Not 
till  the  last  amusement  seeker  had  gone 
home  were  they  released,  with  a  warning 
that  any  attempt  to  secure  revenge  would 
only  result  in  a  worse  beating. 

The  "Hey  Rube"  had  an  aftermath  for 
me  which  I  hadn't  foreseen.  Some  of  the 
boys  had  noticed  that  I  didn't  join  in  the 
fray.  I  was  accused  of  being  a  coward 
and  a  traitor.  When,  the  following  week, 
there  was  another  riot,  and  I  again  re- 
mained aloof,  I  was  informed  by  the  boss 
man  himself  that  the  show  had  no  room 
for  the  likes  of  me. 

Times  change.  First  the  movies,  then 
the  radio,  now  television.  Each  new  in- 
novation lures  away  more  customers  from 
the  outdoor  shows.  And  gradually  the 
most  ignorant  yokel  is  learning  that  he 
can't  beat  the  other  man's  game.  There 
is  still  plenty  of  thievery,  but  it  grows 
less  and  less. 

Not  long  ago  I  visited  the  famous 
Danbury  Connecticut  Fair,  and  engaged 
in  conversation  with  a  flat-joint  operator 
who,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  hadn't  had  a 
player  all  day. 

"What's  the  matter?  No  suckers?"  I 
asked. 

He  grunted  assent.  "Used  to  be  the 
suckers  were  in  front  of  the  joints.  Now 
they're  behind  'em." 

THE  END 


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KIDS'  COUNTY 


a  program,"  he  explains,  "that  would 
reach  out  to  thousands  of  kids,  teaching 
them  just  how  important  local  and  county 
government  is  in  their  lives." 

It  took  an  incident  to  bring  the  project 
to  actual  realization.  One  morning  in  1947 
he  happened  to  overhear  the  comment  of 
a  youth  who  had  just  been  defeated  for 
a  post  in  Boys'  State:  "I  guess  there's 
nothing  to  do  now  but  run  for  some  old 
county  office." 

There  was,  of  course,  no  "junior  count- 
ty"  project  at  that  time.  It  was  just  the 
boy's  way  of  expressing  disgust  over  his 
own  defeat. 

But  the  judge  heard  it  with  a  twinge. 
In  long  years  of  service,  as  Congressman 
in  Washington  and  in  numerous  state 
posts  back  home,  he  had  learned  at  first 
hand  the  job  done  by  the  unsung  officials 
whom  this  boy  dismissed  with  utter 
contempt. 

The  plan  for  the  Cornhusker  Boys'  and 
Girls'  County  began  to  crystallize  in  his 
thoughts. 

Details  were  still  vague.  But  he  talked 
the  plan  over  with  experts  in  the  Nebras- 
ka Department  of  Public  Instruction,  with 
Legion  officials,  with  leaders  of  Rotary 
and  Kiwanis  and  religious  organizations. 

All  enthusiastically  gave  their  support, 
although  it  was  the  Legion  which  agreed 
to  take  over  actual  sponsorship  of  the 
"junior  county"  idea,  following  considera- 
tion and  approval  at  its  annual  Depart- 
ment Convention. 

But  not  until  they  had  set  up  the  juve- 
nile county  project  as  a  corporation— with 
Judge  Simmons  as  president  and  seven 
members  of  the  Legion  and  Auxiliary  on 
the  executive  board  — did  they  discover 
what  a  "revolutionary"  idea  they  had 
hit  upon. 

Nothing  like  this  had  ever  been  tried 
before.  In  spite  of  the  importance  of  coun- 
ty government  in  America,  literature  on 
the  subject— suitable  for  study  purposes- 
was  virtually  non-existent.  If  they  wanted 
a  textbook,  they  would  have  to  write  it 
themselves. 

That,  actually,  is  what  they've  done.  A 
top  Nebraska  journalist  is  now  complet- 
ing a  textbook  giving  the  whole  picture 
of  the  dramatic  role  played  by  county 
government.  In  the  meantime,  stopgap 
pamphlets  prepared  by  the  Legion  give 
youngsters  a  chance  to  learn  the  duties 
involved  in  various  county  posts. 

Cooperation  has  come  from  all  sides. 
Full  backing  has  been  given  by  the  De- 
partment of  Public  Instruction,  the  State 
Teachers'  Association,  the  press,  and 
leading  civic  and  fraternal  groups. 

Parochial  and  Protestant  church  schools 
also  take  part.  On  the  group's  Advisory 
Council,  in  fact,  are  three  prominent 
Catholic  authorities  —  Msgr.  George 
Schuster,  Rev.  Paul  Schneider,  and  Rev. 
A.  E.  Egging.  Protestant  educational  ex- 
perts on  the  council  include  R.  M.  Mote 
of  the  Seventh  Day  Adventists  and  E. 
Charles  Mueller  of  the  Lutherans. 

County  officials  themselves,  school 
teachers  and  members  of  the  Bar  Asso- 
ciation have  also  given  hours  of  time  and 
effort.  Some  of  the  lawyers  have  traveled 
fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  to  "brief"  teachers 


{Continued  from  page  23) 

and  pupils  in  some  out-of-the-way  school 
on  election  procedure. 

Procedure  followed  is  patterned  after 
that  of  the  county  involved.  But  to  keep 
things  equal,  party  membership  is  chosen 
by  drawing  lots,  with  odd  numbers  going 


"Get  a  load  of  the  tie  he's  wearing" 

AMERICAN  LEGION  MAGAZINE 


to  the  Nationalists,  and  even  numbers  to 
the  "Feds." 

As  now  evolved,  it's  a  four-year  clinic 
in  home-grown  civics.  Only  juniors  hold 
offices,  but  everybody  takes  some  active 
part  in  addition  to  balloting.  Politically- 
seasoned  seniors  serve  as  election  super- 
visors. Lower  classes  pitch  in  as  "party 
workers." 

"Registration  Day"  in  the  schools  is  a 
fair  copy  of  the  real  thing.  Students  line 
up  in  assembly  halls  to  register  with  their 
party  and  registration  books  are  carefully 
filled  out  and  checked.  "We  keep  them 
available  at  the  polling  places,"  one  school 
official  told  me,  "in  case  anyone  wants  to 
challenge  a  vote." 

Some  of  the  kid  voters  —  adding  a  touch 
of  realism— did  attempt,  in  several  schools, 
to  vote  more  than  once  in  the  primaries. 
"Nabbed"  at  the  voting  booths,  however, 
they  were  given  a  chance  to  see  how 
difficult  it  is  for  "ghost"  votes  to  get  by. 

Every  boy  and  girl  in  the  junior  class 
runs  for  some  office  under  the  plan.  In 
addition,  elected  commissioners  and  su- 
pervisors have  "patronage"  to  dole  out 
in  appointments  to  a  number  of  county 
jobs. 

Biggest  excitement  is,  of  course,  the  di- 
vision into  parties,  the  drawing  up  of 
platforms  and  the  waging  of  campaigns, 
the  stump  speeches  and  the  parades. 

Platforms  are  concerned  mainly  wtih 
problems  of  interest  to  the  county,  school 
or  individual.  "Junior  committees"  throw 
themselves  into  platform  sessions  like 
veteran  politicans.  Often  their  sharpness 
of  insight  into  adult  problems  startles  the 


grownups.  Example  is  seen  in  a  few 
planks  from  a  typical  teen-age  party 
platform: 

"The  party  recommends  that  assess- 
ment of  personal  property  for  tax  pur- 
poses be  made  more  effective  by  assessing 
all  property  at  its  actual  value,  and  by 
employing  competent  assessors  .  .  . 

"The  party  recommends  a  program  of 
of  laws  in  all  respects;  more  specifically, 
strict  enforcement  of  laws  pertaining  to 
minors  in  pool-rooms  and  beer  parlors 
and  to  drunken  and  reckless  driving  .  .  . 

"The  party  recommends  a  program  of 
consolidation  of  schools  of  the  county  .  .  . 
to  secure  better  educational  advantages 
for  the  children  ..." 

Serious  business  for  these  teen-agers. 
Apparently  they  take  to  heart  the  organ- 
ization's slogan.  General  Eisenhower's 
statement  that  "Politics  is  a  profession; 
a  serious,  complicated  and,  in  its  true 
sense,  a  noble  one." 

But  there  is  also,  in  most  of  the  plat- 
forms, a  blend  of  tongue-in-cVieek  humor 
which  indicates  that  the  boys  and  girls 
haven't  lost  their  perspective. 

Usually  this  is  seen  in  the  unabashed 
appeals  to  student  "self-interest."  Exam- 
ple was  a  Federalist  platform  which 
promised  faithful  constituents  a  complete 
recreation  center,  including  swimming 
pool,  tennis  and  shuffleboard  courts,  skat- 
ing rink  and  dance  pavilion. 

Opposition  Nationalists  must  have  got- 
ten wind  of  what  their  rivals  were  up  to. 
The  Nationalist  platform  promised  the 
same  staggering  list  of  recreational  facili- 
ties —  plus  an  artificial  lake  stocked  with 
fish. 

The  three- day  campaigns  waged  by  the 
youngsters  are  usually  hectic  affairs. 
Here,  too,  there  is  keen  perception  of 
grown-up  problems  combined  with  the 
high-spirited  humor  of  youth. 

One  group  of  candidates,  for  example, 
worked  out,  as  campaign  material,  a  budg- 
et for  the  county's  education  program 
which  was  so  good  it  was  later  adopted 
by  county  officials.  "We  dug  up  all  the 
records  about  costs  of  schooling,"  they 
said  later,  "and  decided  we  could  dope 
out  something  a  lot  cheaper  —  and  better, 
too." 

Numerous  other  suggestions  are  put 
forward  for  improvement  in  roads,  traffic, 
refuse  collection,  street  lighting  and  a 
dozen  other  fields. 

Campaign  "literature"  is  usually  in 
lighter  vein,  with  candidates  vying  to  see 
who  can  turn  out  the  best  slogans  or  jin- 
gles. "To  stay  on  pitch  —  vote  for  Mitch," 
runs  a  typical  sample.  A  young  lady 
named  Peggy  turned  out  scores  of  hand- 
written entreaties  on  the  theme:  "Don't 
be  an  egg  —  vote  for  Peg." 

Last  winter,  they  ran  into  near  disaster 
—  the  worst  blizzards  of  Nebraska's  worst 
winter.  Nevertheless,  most  of  the  counties 
held  their  programs  as  scheduled.  Those 
which  had  to  be  called  off  were  held  at 
later  dates  —  after  the  snows  cleared. 

As  a  windup  for  the  programs,  a  sum- 
ming up  session  is  held  in  each  county  — 
a  time  for  reports  on  what  each  teen- 
ager did  in  his  job.  Later,  back  at  the 
schools,  pupils  of  all  classes  cross- 
examine  the  "office  holders"  on  what 
they  saw  and  learned. 


And  from  grown-up  county  officials, 
teachers  —  and  the  pupils  themselves  — 
scores  of  letters  discussing  the  project 
have  poured  into  Legion  headquarters  in 
Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

Many  have  suggestions  for  improve- 
ments. Some  have  complaints  and 
"gripes,"  citing  instances  where  some 
phase  of  the  project  broke  down.  But 
all  are  enthusiastic  about  the  overall 
program. 

Letters  from  the  youngsters  are  warm 
and  appreciative.  Runs  a  typical  excerpt: 
"I  had  the  privilege  of  sitting  in  on  three 
court  cases  that  morning  ...  I  had  never 
been  in  court  before  and  I  didn't  know 
anything  about  it,  but  now  I  know  the 
procedure  ...  I  believe  this  program  should 
be  spread  over  the  whole  nation.  ..." 

It  is,  actually,  a  program  of  learning, 
not  only  for  the  youngsters,  but  also  for 
parents  and  teachers  and  even  the  county 
officials  themselves,  who  are  beginning  to 


learn  —  in  Nebraska  at  least  —  how  im- 
portant their  own  jobs  are. 

But  it's  the  kids,  of  course,  to  whom 
it  means  most.  You  know  how  much  it 
means  when  you  talk  with  them  about  it. 
To  the  boys  and  girls  in  this  program  — 
they're  pioneers,  like  their  grandparents 
and  great-grandparents,  only  this  time 
not  across  prairies,  but  in  the  field  of 
education. 

"It's  something  new,"  one  boy  official 
explained.  "It's  a  way  of  learning  that's 
better  than  anything  you  learn  from  a 
book.  You're  part  of  it  every  year  you're 
in  school.  You  won't  ever  forget." 

He  looked  up  at  me.  "My  teacher's  al- 
ways talking  about  some  quotation  on  the 
capitol  in  Lincoln.  Something  about  how 
'The  salvation  of  the  state  is  watchfulness 
in  the  citizen,' "  his  lips  broke  into  a 
grin.  "I  guess  that's  what  this  is  —  teach- 
ing us  kids  how  to  be  watchful." 

THE  END 


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The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949  •  gg 


P^BnJVG  SHOTS 


DOWN  ELEVATOR 

Although  I  see  ten  people  run 
And  push  the  buzzer  one  hy  one, 
I  cannot  overcome  the  yen 
To  push  that  button  once  again. 

—  By  Margaret  Mc Andrew 

AQUA  PURA 

This  took  place  in  a  little  Georgia  town. 
The  head  of  the  household  had  been  on  a 
stem-winding  drunken  spree,  but  he 
finally  got  home  and  to  bed. 

Long  before  day  he  awoke  with  a  burn- 
ing throat.  His  agony  was  great.  He  stag- 
gered to  the  kitchen,  got  the  refrigerator 
door  open,  and  finally  found  the  water 
bottle.  That  water  tasted  so  good  that  it 
revived  and  exalted  him.  Wonderful, 
wonderful  coolness!  It  was  so  good  that 
there,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  woke 
up  his  wife  and  all  his  children  and  made 
them  share  this  delightful  drink,  too. 

—  By  August  Burghardt 

MISS-DIRECTION 

No  need  to  plead  with  all  your  might, 
Or  tease  her  with  your  taunts; 

For  when  you  start  to  say  goodnight, 
You'll  kiss  her  — if  she  wants. 

—  By  Bernard  I.  Sharfman 

HORRIBLE  EXAMPLE 

A  neatly  dressed  man  was  approached 
on  the  street  by  a  tramp.  "Got  a  dollar," 
he  said. 

"If  I  give  you  a  dollar,"  replied  the  gen- 
tleman, "you'll  gamble  with  it." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  bum,  "I  don't  gamble." 

"Well,  you'll  spend  it  on  some  woman," 
the  gentleman  said. 

"Absolutely  not,"  said  the  tramp.  "I 
never  associate  with  women." 

"Then  you'll  spend  it  on  drink,"  said 
the  angry  gentleman. 


"Couldn't,  never  drink,"  replied  the 
bum. 

"Tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  said  the  gentle- 
man. "You  come  home  with  me  and  show 
my  wife  what  happens  to  a  man  with  no 
vices,  and  I'll  give  you  five  dollars." 

—  By  Ray  McCoffrey 

TOUCH  SYSTEM 

Breathes  there  a  man  with  such  restraint 
That  he  never  has  touched  where  it  says 
"Wet  Paint "? 

—By  S.  Omar  Barker 

FLORAL  MORAL 

He  shyly  said  it  with  flowers, 
But  girls  didn't  like  him  best. 

His  bouquets  always  got  crushed  on 
Some  other  fellow's  vest. 

—  By  Fairfax  Downey 

CHEAP  AT  HALF  THE  PRICE 

In  the  early  days  of  the  traveling  sales- 
man, a  "drummer"  stopping  in  a  New 
England  village  found  it  necessary  to  hire 
a  rig  to  call  on  a  customer  who  lived  a 
mile  or  so  out  of  town.  The  liveryman 
made  him  a  price  of  $1.50  to  go  to  the 
place  designated;  but  when  the  salesman 
returned,  he  was  forced  to  pay  an  addi- 
tional $1.50  "for  the  ride  back." 

He  paid  without  protest,  and  strode  off 
whistling.  Next  morning  he  reappeared 
and  hired  the  same  rig  to  go  to  a  town 
fifteen  miles  away,  agreeing  to  pay  $6.00. 
Late  that  evening  he  showed  up  at  the 


"MILDRED?"  ■"■"imir 


mmmmmmmm 


stable— walking.  He  handed  the  owner 
$6.00  and  turned  to  go. 

"Where's  my  horse  and  carriage?"  de- 
manded the  liveryman. 

"Oh,"  shrugged  the  salesman,  "I  left 
them  in  the  place  I  went  to.  A  fellow 
offered  me  a  lift,  so  I  thought  I'd  save  the 
cost  of  the  ride  back." 

—  By  Henry  A.  Courtney 

MARTYR 

The  couple  gazed  at  her  biscuits. 
Appraising  the  undersized  sight; 

His  eyes  raised  an  unanswered  question, 
"All  right,"  he  said  bravely,  "I'll  bite." 

—  By  Ruth  Christiansen 

SEE  INSTRUCTIONS 

A  young  bride  walked  into  a  drug  store 
and  timidly  approached  the  clerk. 

"That  baby  tonic  you  advertise... does  it 
really  make  babies  bigger  and  stronger?" 

"Well,  we  sell  a  lot  of  it,"  said  the  clerk, 
"and  haven't  had  any  complaints." 

The  young  woman  purchased  a  bottle 
and  left. 

She  was  back  in  a  moment  however,  and, 
leaning  over  the  counter,  whispered: 

"Just  one  more  thing  —  who  takes  it  — 
my  husband  or  me?" 

-  By  F.  G.  Kernan 

YES,  CHILDREN 
THE  MONEYMOON  IS  OVER 

Remember,  dear,  how  I  swore  to  be 
Faithful  and  true  till  Eternity? 
Remember,  too,  how  I  promised  you 
My  revels  were  ended,  my  nights  out  few? 
Remember  I  vowed  to  be  always  good. 
Behaving  exactly  as  husbands  should? 
Remember  1  promised  to  shun  a  skid? 
You  do?  Ah,  yes.  I  was  scared  you  did. 

—  By  Bob  Elton 

SO  WE'VE  SUSPECTED 

When  a  man  and  wife  both  passed  away, 
they  took  different  routes  to  their  destiny. 
When  the  wife  got  to  Heaven,  she  imme- 
diately called  her  husband  on  the  tele- 
phone. "How  do  you  like  it  down  there?" 
she  asked. 

"Fine,"  was  her  husband's  reply.  "All 
we  have  to  do  is  wear  a  red  suit  with 
horns  and  every  now  and  then,  shovel 
some  coal  on  the  fire.  We  don't  work 
more  than  2  hours  out  of  every  24.  But 
tell  me,  how  is  it  up  there?" 

"My  goodness,"  said  the  wife,  "we  have 
to  get  up  at  four  in  the  morning  and  gather 
in  the  stars;  then  we  have  to  haul  in  the 
moon  and  hang  out  the  sun.  Then  we  have 
to  roll  the  clouds  around  all  day  long." 

"But  how  come  you  have  to  work  so 
hard?"  queried  the  husband. 

"Well,  to  tell  the  truth,"  said  the  wife, 
"we're  kind  of  short  of  help  up  here." 

—  By  Dan  Bennett 

A  LOT  DEPENDS 
ON  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

The  stars  were  out  in  all  their  glory, 

Fireflies  twinkled  in  their  flight, 
And  sweethearts,  as  in  song  and  story. 

Met  to  praise  the  perfect  night. 
The  moon,  a  globe  of  gold,  was  keeping 

Vigil  over  the  inspired. 
But  I  was  under  blankets,  sleeping. 

I  get  tired.      _      William  W.  Pratt 


•  The  American  Legion  Magazine  •  May,  1949 


en  day  is  done  ./.you  > 

/  deserve 


You  Travel  in  Style  when  you  travel  on 
America's  crack  streamliners.  And  wher- 
ever you  go,  you'll  find  America  "goes" 
for  Schenley.  You  meet  people  from 


Maine  to  California  .  .  .  from  Texas  to 
Minnesota.  Their  likes  and  dislikes  may 
differ— but  they  all  agree  that  mild,  mel- 
low Schenley  is  friendly  to  your  taste. 


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uct are  5  years  or  more  okl.  35%  straight  whiskey.  *65%  grain  neutral 
4  Schenley  Mark  ef  Merit  Whiskey     spirits.  86  Proof.  Cop\  riglit  1949,  Schenley  Distillers  Corp.,  New  York  City. 


PERMANENT  f\lt 

AMERICAN  LEGION  AAAGAZINI 

I  lived  in  Milwaukee. and 
I  ought  to  know- 


^at^  Is  Milwaukee^ 


finest  ^Beer 


says  BRIAN  DONLEVY,  star  of 
Amusement  Enterprise's  "THE  lUCKY  STIFF 


"I  grew  up  in  Sheboygan  Falls,  served  in 
the  Wisconsin  National  Guard  and 
lived  for  a  time  in  Milwaukee," 
says  Mr.  Donlevy.  "So,  when  I  say  that, 
of  all  Milwaukee's  superb  beers.  Blatz 
the  finest,  you  can  take  my  word  for  it. 
I  lived  there  ...  I  ought  to  know.'" 


"Like  my  tastr  for  Blatz,  my  interest  in  aviation 
i.-  an  old  e^tllllsia^m . . .  one  I  put  to  frequent  use 
Hying  to  my  tungsten  mine  up  in  the  mountains." 


"Here  at  my  house  in  Malihu,  I  like  to  work  around  the 
"arden.  It's  a  form  of  recreation  made  all  the  more  enjoy- 
able by  a  refrigerator  always  amply  stocked  with  Blatz." 


3ktz  IS  Milwdube's 
feMId  deerl 

©1949,  Blotz  Brewing  Co.,  Est.  1851  in  Miiwauliee,  Wisconsin